Connorsford

Ray smiled tightly, "Yup." She didn't move and she started to draw out her sentence, " I am one hundred precent ready to go. Into the cave. The tiny foreboding cave. Which looks like so much fun..." Ray to a deep breadth and sprinted foreword into the mouth of the cave. Smiling she gave herself a mental pat on the back while she tried to calm down her rapidly beating heart.

Ray looked back at the mouth of the cave longingly. Turning to James she smiled, "Is that, water I hear?" Her heart was definitely not slowing down, and was it just her or was the cave getting much smaller as she went? Ray hated her fear of tight spaces. It was completely irrational. She knew that the walls weren't going to close in on her and that it was perfectly safe. But still, small spaces were just plain freaky.

Ray bumped into a stone jutting out of the wall and yelped. She leapt back and her foot snagged on the cave floor. She tripped and fell back onto James.

Tabby stared at Lyra's hand as she pondered everything she'd heard. Care for and protect...being part of the house now...what did they know that she didn't? Excluding, apparently, something strange about her very nature. The whole 'being a werewolf' thing. Was she supposed to be staying here now? Wasn't it all as she had intended it to be; a failed weekend in Connorsford looking for a studio that didn't exist and then heading home with her tail between her legs to face the music from her mother?

"I...don't know how you need to go about anything." Tabby said uncertainly. "I didn't want anything major from you guys. I didn't come here on a journey of discovery. I just thought it was really nice that you guys invited me up here and got me out of a crappy situation. I...I do trust you. You've helped me a lot and I'm grateful. I don't want to tell you you guys are wrong about being werewolves but..."

She trailed off into silence. She didn't know what she was trying to say. Something about the whole business was starting to seem frightening plausible. Gaving last night, and Aziel just now. They hadn't just been flapping their gums. They'd obviously believed that it was within their power to prove their point.

Adrain nodded softly. "But you've got not reason to believe it yourself, right?" He said.

Tabby nodded meekly.

"Alright," said Adrian, "you came here with a man didn't you."

"Yeah, Lance."

"And who is he?"

"He's my uncle."

"Right, that's what you told my good lady. Now thing about us is that we can tell each other by scent, and as proof, I've got to tell you that we know Lance isn't your uncle."

"Wh..ho..." Tabby stammered in amazement, "How could you know that??"

"Wolves are wolves by blood relation only." Adrian said with a gentle smile, "We can identify you as a wolf. Lance isn't one. Therefore he can't be a relation of yours."

Tabby's eyes fell to the floor. There wasn't a single person who'd had any reason to doubt her story about Lance being her uncle. Adrian hadn't even met Lance, and Tai had only seen him for a minute. And yet they knew without doubt that she'd been lying about it.

"Wow." she gasped, standing up from her chair. "Uh...wow...OK." She turned to Lyra and took a deep breath. "So...can you really...you know...change?"

"That would be water." James replied his eyes already growing used to the darkness. It wasn't that big of a cave truly, and it was rather flat compared to most, so they would be there shortly. Letting his fingers brush against the wall, he mentally prepared his lines and speeches for when the time came. He had to make it good and not mess up! Again. Before he had time to realize what was happening, Ray yelped and came tumbling down... on him. Caught flat footed, She crashed into James chest, and he wobbled, thankfully her small statue did not have much weight behind it as he managed to stabilize his body, his arms warping around her in reflex. Trying to latch on to anything in order to steady himself.

Of course, after he had regained his thought process, he noticed he had Ray's back crushed against his chest as his arms slung around her stomach. For a moment, he did not want to let go. It felt so right, the way she fit onto him, the warmth that radiated up his arms, even her scent, by God what was wrong with him! She even smelt alluring. Bracing himself, he slowly pushed her away from him. "Aw, sorry about that." He muttered, as he pushed on too embarrassed to look at her.

It was not much longer when the cave opened up into a much larger room. The floor dropped down into a clear... well, as clear as water can be in a semi-dark cave, pool as it was being feed by a large cascading waterfall against the far wall. Just enough light came in over the waterfall to bounce of the walls, illuminating it a fair bit more then the previous room. Usually, he would take his clothes off in order to get to the next section, but James was sure Ray would be a little bothered by that, so instead he flashed one of his large smiles, "Ready to go for a quick swim? We are almost there."

Duncan looked over to Anya as she led him down the gravel path, his eyes stayed on the floor his feet prodding the gravel with his shoe. " I'm not really bother to be honest Anya, I'm sorry...that I'm not being as mate like as I should be..." he smiled to her softly and held her gaze briefly. " it's just....with everything thats gone on...with dad passing over " he paused to sighed softly as he pinched the bridge of his nose mainly to try and stop his eyes frm watering he didn't really want this today he planned to try and clear his mind he knew he had a duty to the pack. He was glad he wasnt alpha he would have broke down in the first five minutes.

He breathed in and out deeply " could we just walk around for a while?" he asked giving a soft smile.

Kiyoshi stood in silent, watching the argument progress. Adrian was so skilled, so practiced at settling these situations down. Kiyoshi was almost jealous. Though he was good at easing tension, he was by no means on the level of the alpha. He doubted that he ever would be. His father had died too early in his training, and Kiyoshi had yet to find another who might instruct him. Adrian had his own children to worry about. It did not matter, anyways. He was too old now to be a student.

He glanced down as Lyra twined her fingers with his, squeezing gently in response. He pressed his lips to her dark hair, letting her lean on him, taking her weight. It was remarkably comfortable. This was what he wanted - to be there for her to rest on. To stand beside her as she led a pack of her own. That was, perhaps, why he worried so much about what she would do if she failed. She clearly had not considered the option of losing to her brother. Had she considered the possibility of starting her own pack...? In Japan Kiyoshi had been surrounded by upstart families, young alphas who had split from their houses and moved away to start their own family, usually departing from China or Korea, sometimes from America. He had seen the chaos, and the success, which evolved in families of inexperienced alphas. In his mind it was an option.

He might have to suggest it to her, someday.

Ray ended up crushed up against James with his arms around her lower back. Thankfully she didn’t knock him over, that would have probably been the end of her cave spelunking adventures. James quickly pushed her away saying, "Aw, sorry about that." He continued to push foreword without looking back. Ray rolled her eyes, there was the good ol’ James she knew and loved. He was there all along, just hiding under a thin façade of kindness.

Ray stuck as close to the center of the tiny passage as she could while they continued foreword. As Ray stepped out into the larger chamber her breath slowed and she smiled. That was much better. She looked around the cave at the waterfall and lagoon illuminated by faint light. Ray whistled, “Wow James, so this is where you spend all your free time?” She looked around for a few seconds before adding, “This is pretty awesome.”

"Ready to go for a quick swim? We are almost there." Ray nodded smiling and taking off her sneaks so they wouldn’t get soaked.

“So,” She asked curiously, “This isn’t our final destination?” She thought this cave would have been the big reveal. It was pretty amazing after all, she couldn't help but wonder what James had found that would trump it.

"I found it a couple years back." James said looking the rippling whatever over, "I haven't told anyone about this place, and I don't want to... Well, besides you." Which was a moot point. He did bring her here so of course he wanted her to know, but it felt right saying it. "Well, I have a few places I spend my time, but this is probably in my top three favorites." Glancing back at her, he flashed another large smile; glad she seemed to think this small part was already worth the walk. "No, I got something better ahead."

Legally he did own this cave. He had been saving up all his change and money for years since he found it, and on his 18th birthday he bout the acre it was on. It was pretty cheap given it was an acre in the middle of nowhere with a small cave in it, but it was well worth it. Slipping off his shoes and socks, James jumped into the water. The initial blast of cold knocking out his breath. "I-it's a little cold at first." He admitted. Pulling himself through the water he headed straight for the waterfall, and with some effort swam right through the bottom.

He did not magically disappear, there was a hole in the wall where the water had eroded the stone. James had first discovered it when he tried to 'stand' under the waterfall. He wanted to mock the monks who did it in the far east, and thus in some ways mock Mr. Stereotype who probably did such things believing it made him look wise, or cool, or whatever the hell he was going for. Sadly, since there was no ground or back, when he tried to stand, he just fell through and nearly cracked his skull.

He had to move fast though to get there before she did as the inside of the waterfall was dark as the moving curtain of water let very little light in. Pushing himself up onto the stone floor and out of the water, he hustled to the small generator he had stashed in the corner. Getting it in had been a real challenge... Quickly, he pulled the string... it growled twice then turned off. Cursing his luck, he hit it with the palm of his hand and tried again, but this time it roared to life before sinking to a low hum.

As the generator came alive, the walls lit up as dozens of strands of Christmas lights bolted to the wall came alive. The light bounces off the floor and the waterfall, but... the walls started to glitter. Inside the walls were hundreds upon hundreds of gemstones and as the light hit them they came to life shining with all their luster. James smiled, relieved it was all still working. A strand or two of the lights weren't working, but not everything could be perfect like him. Moving back towards the pool edge, he awaited Ray, so he could help her up... and finally give her the birthday present.

Ray was a little puzzled by the besides you comment. It wasn't like they spent a lot of time together... In fact, if anything he seemed to purposely avoid her sometimes. Other times he was cold and uncaring and then suddenly he was nice. Ray shook her head, James was a question mark wrapped in an enigma. But she didn't have time to ponder it much as he dived into the natural pool.

"I-it's a little cold at first, " he warned and Ray rolled her eyes, "I think I can handle it." Taking a running start she cannonballed in to the icy water. When her head popped up above the water line her teeth were chattering as she spit out, "Dude, cold is the pacific ocean in may, this is freezing!" Ray attempted to splash James with the icy water but missed horribly as he plunged under the water fall.

Taking a deep breath she followed him and watched as he quickly disappeared into a hole in the rocks. Rays eyes widened and she swam back up to the surface gasping for air. He expected her to swim through that? Tight spaces sucked when walking through them, swimming wasn't such a good idea. But it wasn't like she could turn back now. She didn't want to wuss out and she wouldn't be able to call James and let him know she wasn't coming, seeing as she was pretty sure neither of them had their phones.

So ray took a few very deep breaths and swam down to where James had passed through the waterfall . She closed her eyes and began to swim foreword. Ray was combating her fear with simple child logic, what you can't see won't hurt you. Ray was a firm believer in child logic, or at least she had convinced herself she was at that moment.

Stepping into a cave Ray opened her eyes and stared around shocked. For a moment her mouth formed a tiny "o" and Ray was too amazed to ay anything. The cave was beautiful and the christmas lights reflecting off the gems in the walls made the place seem almost magical. Remembering not to seem so awestruck Ray tried to put on less of a deer in headlights face as she said, " Yeah, this definitely trumps the cavern outside."

James laughed, not his usually cocky, I am the best HA HA! laugh, but a deep one that hurt his ribs. For some reason, the look on her face... the feeling that she seemed happy to have come was like a light in his heart that lifted up all the weight he had been feeling earlier. While he felt anxious about what was to come, and a little cold, all he could do was laugh. Coughing to try and get control of himself, he flashed a bright smile through wobbly lips that still tried to produce that proud laugh, "I am glad... I spent weeks trying to prepare this for you." He let slip before he realized he did. Oh... He wished he could take back those words because they made him feel vulnerable and desperate. He felt like a child hopping his mother would tell him good job and give him a kiss.

Shaking his head, he offered her a towel that was hanging on one of the Christmas light strands. "Here... You might catch a cold." Well, that was true... but so could he. James really said it to buy himself a few more seconds before taking the final plunge that made him feel like he was about to throw up his heart and trample on it. He knew he was not the most... well... transparent person as he kept most people at a distance as it was easier that way, so he only hoped she got the message because he knew he would never be able to say it out right. While he felt like a coward, the idea of telling Ray he liked her terrified him to no end, what made it worse was the fact that there was a good chance she might just brush this off as him having a 'weird' James moment.

Slowly reaching into his wet pocket, his fingers enclosed around the chain of the amulet, and he took a breath, "Here's your present..." His voice died off as he mentally counted to force himself to do it. Three.... Two.... One... One... Damn it!... Closing his eyes and holding his breath, he pulled it out. The aquamarine locked within the white gold swung down freely from the chain. The aquamarine was an intense dark sea blue that seemed to suck the light around it into itself. "Happy late birthday." James let out it a rush.

Anya gave him a small smile. "Don't be silly, you're doing just fine." She whispered, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "You've been through a lot. Of course we can just go for a walk." She led the way, without speaking for a few moments. She didn't really know where she was going, only that she was following the path into town. Biting at her bottom lip, she cast Duncan a look out of the corner of her eye. It was something she'd never experience and Anya didn't really know how to deal with it. A little self-consciously she took a deep breath and looked at him fully.

"How about you tell me about him?" She asked, giving him a small smile. "I didn't know him very well, but I would have loved to. He seemed like such a genuinely nice man." It was true. On the few occasions that she had met Duncan's father she had really liked him. But she didn't see him very often as he lived away from the Pack house now. She couldn't imagine moving away from the Pack house, but she knew it would happen now. Not that it mattered, because she would have the most important thing that she would ever need. Duncan.

((Really sorry it's short...No time xD))

Calvin's hand felt heavy on his shoulder as Gavin watched the scene between Aziel and Tabs unfold. It bothered him, just a little, that it was Aziel and not him who was making her understand what she was. He had just lit the candle, and left the rest to her. That was how his parents- how Evon and Daniel- made the truth visible for him. Except he had actually changed first, which made coming to terms a whole lot easier.

Apparently, Tabs needed more than just words and a spark of internal interest to believe. He watched the blatant disbelief slowly fade from her eyes. Then Lyra moved in with her reassuring words and smiles and further explanations.

"I hope she forgives me." Gavin said lowly. "Once she realizes that all of it is true." He was talking to Calvin initially, but it was Evon who responded first, wrapping her hands around his upper arms and drawing him into something of a hug.

"Of course she will! This might not be the best time, but if it's alright with you and Adrian I'd like to get to know her, too..."

"No." Gavin answered before she could continue. "Poor Tabs has been through so much tonight, she's gotta let it soak for a while." He didn't want to dump so much on her at once, and he wasn't entirely sure if Tabs even liked Evon. She certainly wasn't the same motherly figure to her as she was to him, so Gavin also had doubts about the necessity of such a relationship to form.

After all, Evon and Gavin hadn't been seeing eye-to-eye recently, and the current events weren't blinding Gavin to that fact, either.

"I guess you were right." He leaned toward Calvin, Evon's hands fell from his arms. He grinned at Lyra, though she couldn't see, grateful for her intervention that kept Aziel from shifting in front of her. "I considered shifting for her, but she's terrified of wolves. It wouldn't do anything but drive her away, and that's not what we want."

"That was the only way you would believe, Gavroche" Evon said gently.

"Tabitha isn't me." Gavin replied curtly. He wished Jac would materialize and smooth things over so he wouldn't have to keep talking to Evon. He had enough of her for one day. Also, he wanted to talk to Calvin more about what he mentioned on the beach, but not while she was present.

Tabby felt her skin practically crawl as Lyra remained on the subject of 'mates'. It sounded incredibly primitive, yet at the same time she was providing a visual example in the way of herself and Kiyoshi. And they certainly seemed happy enough. Like they'd been a couple for years. It hadn't seemed quite the same with Gavin and that 'Jac' girl the previous night, but...well, Tabby was already realising that Gavin was a rather full-on personality and that could have something to do with it.

Besides, she could see everyone around her was more relaxed now that she'd put her defences down - except perhaps Aziel who was still looking rather defeated - and it seemed like it was as well to let it go. Especially as the subject of Lance came up and she realised she'd been about to call him.

"Oh boy, yeah." she muttered, "I was just gonna call him, he never did show. He probably met some people somewhere, got talked into something stupid."

She smiled awkwardly, slightly apologetic that she'd lied to everyone about him being her uncle. That said, it wasn't as though the truth was any weirder than anything she'd had to get her head around since walking into the house! She picked up the phone which she had dropped near her chair, and without looking started dialing. The tactic worked; thinking about it less helped her memory recover Lance's cell number, and she put the handset to her ear.

---

Jason smoothed down his clothes and snorted in contempt, hoping that it would disguise the discomfort in his back which he always felt after shifting. It was a demeaning reminder that he would never again be fit for combat. Butchering an unarmed human was one thing...

"Calvin." he corrected, "Yeah he must be about your age, I dunno you kids all look the same to me."

Ash made her excuses to go and take a bath, and Jason huffed and spat on the ground. Even back in human form there was still the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

"Sure thing," he said, "for now you can..."

He was interrupted by a frenetic, tinny musical tone emanating from the deceased human's jacket pocket. Jason pursed his mouth and stared at the corpse for a moment, wondering what to do. After a few moments of indecision he quickly retried the cell phone and looked at the display. The name which appeared there made him panic.

"It's her." he said, "The girl we came for."

He pressed the button to answer the call, but then immediately flipped it over, prized the back off and removed the battery, slipping it into his pocket and the phone into another pocket. It might come in useful later, but for now he would prefer Tabitha to simply think that he friend's phone had run out of charge whilst answering the call.

"Well," he went on, "for now you can take your pretty self off to do whatever you feel like. After a good morning's work why don't you head into town and treat yourself to something nice? I'm gonna go to the camp and tell Winter that the plan is back on track."

---

"God damn it's tight!" Nico cursed, as the four boys wriggle their way down the narrow passageway. Normally he would have the confidence to suppose that they would have turned back if the crevice didn't get wider up ahead, but unfortunately he knew that Q-Ball was in the lead, so there was no confidence at all that common sense would prevail.

"I dunno," Drake sneered, "I've had tighter."

"Sure you have hot-shot." Craig grizzled, looking back contemptuously. "Keep telling yourself that stud."

"Let the baby have his bottle." Nico chuckled, "He can say what he wants when there's probably no female within a mile to say to the contrary."

Nico and Craig laughed between themselves. Up ahead the sound of running water rose up again, confirming that they were heading towards an underwater spring. Unfortunately, it was also getting gradually darker. Nico found himself wanting to suggest shifting, but at this stage the ability to communicate orally probably outweighed the size and agility advantage of being in wolf form.

"You see anything Q?" Nico called forward.

"Yeah, yeah." Q-Ball chattered, "Looks like it opens up a little bit, maybe inclines upwa-ARGH!"

There was a squeal and a splosh, and the other three boys fell to their knees laughing as it became apparent that Q-Ball had fallen straight into a rock pool.

"Nice navigating dipshit." Craig chorlted.

"What's that?" Q-Ball spluttered.

"I said...nice navigating shit-for-brains."

"No," Q-Ball said, shushing the others. "I can hear voices...further up ahead...."

---

Tabby sighed resignantly and placed the phone back down on the table.

"Sounds like he's out of battery, wherever he is." she said with a weak smile and a shrug.

"Not a problem." Adrian spoke up after remaining quiet against the wall allowing Lyra and the other to deal with the situation. "I've got an idea. Mr Dean - aka Jeff - was telling me there's a fete on in the square down in town. It's a human shindig, so you know the score. But it could be fun, the weather's right for it, and it's in the middle of town so if Lance is down there we may well run into him."

He looked over at Lyra, taking a moment to give her a warm smile of approval as he took in, for the first time, the sight of her and Kiyoshi together. It wasn't difficult to see an alpha-pair in the making...but he had to refrain from the temptation to presume how things would work out. He still dearly wished the decision didn't ultimately rest on his shoulders.

"Besides," he went on, "it's a big night tomorrow. Best make sure that we're all stocked up for the celebration. So waddya'll say - penny-stalls and bouncy castles in the sun sound like a day out?"

---

Calvin snorted to himself. Scared of wolves is she? Well good luck with that. Maybe when 'it' happened it would be as well to leave Gavin behind to look after his car-crash of a sister. Especially now that his crazy mother had shown up and muddied the waters even more. He'd hoped he might be able to win over a few others - Gavin would have been a good candidate, Aziel too - but really the only person he needed to talk to an persuade was Lyra. Lyra was everything. And she was the most urgent too. Every second she spent getting comfortable around Kiyoshi was gonna make it harder for her to see the light when the time came.

"You hear that Gav?" he said, "I think the boss said there's a fete in town. Maybe there's be the opportunity to throw things at other things...maybe even shoot stuff with airguns if we're lucky. And if it's lame we can always bail and find something else to do."

Sid poked his head around the door frame and over Kathy's shoulder, a grin on his face. "What's this I hear about a party going on? I missed the last one so you'd better not be planning on excluding me from this one." He sidestepped around Kathy as she backed up and lifted the bowl of cereal he had made up and out of harms way so no one would tip it over. With a chuckle he went and leaned against the fridge door as he spooned a mouthful of the milk covered flakes into his mouth, his chewing temporarily cutting out all hearing only catching the last part of Calvin's sentence.

"Bail? Why would you bail? If somethings not entertaining enough all ya gotta do is make it more entertaining. That's normally easy enough to do, right? Although with it being a human gathering it does make it a little more difficult..." Sid chuckled as he placed another mouthful of the semi-soggy food into his mouth, attempting to talk around the mess. "Besides, if enough of us go we won't need much else to keep us entertained. We seem to do a dandy job of that on our own."

Lyra frowned as Tabby's call did not connect, but she did not allow the inconvenience to dampen her mood. Traveling for so, it was not unreasonable that Lance could have just forgotten to charge his phone. Although, it did worry Lyra for some reason. If something were to happen to Lance, he would not be able to call for help. That's a strange thought, Lyra scolded herself with a shake of her head. It was Connorsford. Nothing ever happened here.... Even if the sudden appearance of Tabby under a false presumption still tingled Lyra's hairs, it did not mean either of them were in danger. Besides, for the few moments Lyra had met Lance, he seemed to be one that allowed mediocre tasks to slip his mind easily. Part of Lyra was impressed that the two had even made it here.

Lyra's golden eyes flickered toward Adrian, smiling to his suggestion. For a moment, she caught his gaze. Warmth spread through her body to see the pleasure brushed across his face. He approved.

Lyra grinned and looked up to Kiyoshi, wondering if he saw the same look that she had. She squeezed against him, a feeling that everything would be okay settling across her. "A fete sounds fun. A few people missed Ray's birthday last night, so it would be good to have everyone together for once. As we get older, it seems almost impossible for the pack to be in one place, even if we do live in the same house!" Lyra laughed to her comment, although a pang of sorrow ran through its center. Eventually, everyone would move out of the pack house. Even she would, unless she was named Adrian's successor before she was old enough to move. But then again, Kiyoshi was all ready twenty. Had he started looking for apartments? Lyra shivered, the only sign that the happy front held a deeper secret. That was something to discuss later and without an audience.

---

Ash remained mute to Jason's display, her hazel eyes criticizing as he removed the battery from the phone and slipped it into his pocket. It would be just like him to take a trophy, even if the phone probably had some practical use behind it. "I think I have some pocket change around, so maybe I will take up your offer," she said, eyes wandering the forest. "There's a few tasks I wanted to catch up on. And there must be something to do in this pathetic town on a Saturday night. Maybe I can get into a movie or something." Ash shrugged, turning to walk down the path. "Cya Jassy. And you might want some Advil for that back problem of yours," she smirked with amusement.

Ash walked quietly towards the town, enjoying the time to think away from the boys. She did not care what Jason did with the body, but Ash was careful. Slipping off her shoes, she walked in the river to hide her scent from any snooping noses.

Kiyosi did catch sight of Adrian's expression. It was good, he thought, to see the alpha proud of his daughter. Perhaps Adrian would select Lyra. She stood a fair chance: so far as Kiyoshi had seen, she showed far more interest in pack life than James did. She had certainly saved him, in more ways than he could accurately count. Maybe, just maybe, when they got around to discussing her other choices, it would turn out to be an unnecessary discussion. They still had to talk, just in case, but perhaps it would come to nothing...

Drawing in a deep sigh, forcing the thoughts to the back of his mind, he squeezed her shoulders gently. Soon, perhaps even later today, they would discuss the possibility of her losing to her brother. For now he had to worry about the situation at hand.

Duncan looked over to Anya as she spoke asking him to talk about his father and what he was like. He gave a soft smile and spoke " he was great, he's the man who taught me to fight and defend myself," without him I wouldn't be the man I am today. He'd often help out at the school teaching art to the kids"

He smiled at the memories of him and his father play fighting and sparring as Duncan grew up " it's a shame you didn't get to see him in his prime I know he would have loved you to peices. It's hard for me to accept that he's gone he has always been there along with mom I don't know how she's feeling. Losing your mate must be the hardest thing to go through"

His eyes averted down to the floor his hands reaching up to his eyes whipping fresh tears away, " I miss him Anya...I really do"

“Here... You might catch a cold." James tossed her a towel and she caught it quickly and wrapped its soft warmth around her shivering form. Now that the initial shock and awe had worn off she was freezing and the cave wasn’t quite as big as the one outside. Her teeth weren’t just chattering from the icy water.

Slowly reaching into his wet pocket James held something ray couldn’t see. He took a big breath as if he was also afraid the cave might close in on him. Seriously? What was up with him? If he got any weirder she was going to have to let him know…

"Here's your present..." His voice died off and he squeezed his eyes shut as he pulled out a necklace swinging on a white gold chain. Holding it out to her he said, "Happy late birthday."

Ray took the pendent and looked it over. And shinning white gold chain led down to a pendent of white gold with a polished aquamarine carved into a heart shape. It looked beautiful, and very expensive.

Glancing up at James she said slowly, “Thanks… but I can’t accept this.” She held the pendent out for him to take and the cave lights dappled its surface as she did so.

Continuing she added, “I mean, how much money did this cost James? We don’t even hang out that much, I’m not about to let you spend a bunch of money on a present for me.” Now the words were poring out of Ray. She couldn’t stop talking, not because she was mad at James, but because she couldn’t keep the claustrophobia at bay any more.

She continued to speak, and as she did so her voice grew in volume, “What’s up with you anyways? One second you’re mocking my height, the next it’s spelunking time! Then you defend tabby, which is awesome, but really out of character! Then you agree to let me drive, which is just plain insane! Then I think we’re getting along fine and you brush me off until it’s time to plunge into artic waters! Now you give me this expensive and THIS CAVE IS WAY TOO SMALL!” Ray’s eyes were wide with fright as she stopped talking and started gasping for air.

Each word was a stab, why did she keep talking? Whats up with him? Out of character? Insane? brush her off?... Each one not only a stab, but a nice twist added in. Right. This was stupid. Why did he do all this work when deep down he knew something like this was going to happen? No. He wouldn't let her have the pleasure of seeing him in pain, James would be damned before he let anyone see him hurt. "Fine. Lets go." He said through clenched teeth. His fist trembled a little with the urge to hit the generator that was annoying humming along. Did she have any idea, just any, at how difficult that was to bring in here? "Go." He said pointing towards the pool. "I'll be behind you once I turn everything off."

James wanted to hit something, anything, but as they were in a cave, he did not have many options. A stone wall, her, which even if he was pissed at her was out of the question, and a metal generator, although hitting that annoying generator was looking more and more tempting. Of course, he did not notice the way she acted in the small cave, because he was a little too busy with his own problems and pain to notice hers.

Damn it, Should have simply followed his instincts, kept his head down. Now he looked so stupid... How could he have been rejected?

Anya drew to a halt and watched Duncan sadly. She reached up and brushed his tears away with her fingertips, leaving her hand on his cheek in a comforting manner. Making him look into her eyes, she gave him a little smile, stroking his cheek delicately.

"I just know he was so proud of you, how couldn't he have been? And of course you're going to miss him. He was a huge part of your life. And I promise that I will always, always be here for you. No matter what it takes. You're stuck with me now, forever." She whispered, dropping her hand and linking her fingers through his. She continued to walk, taking Duncan with her. Their mating had come at a difficult time, but Anya knew she could support Duncan with what had happened. He was the only thing that mattered to her know. She had no family to speak of and eventually she would be forced to leave the Pack house.

Turning a corner, she found they had wandered into the town. People were already milling about, shopping or sitting in cafes nattering to one another. It all seemed too normal, but perhaps that was what they needed at that moment.

"Fine. Lets go."James said through clenched teeth. Ray was barely listening as her eyes darted around the cave. It felt as if it was shrinking by the minute she was afraid she might never be able to find her way out a gain. Her breath quickened as she gasped for air, for as the cave appeared to be shrinking so did the air supply. She looked at James, seeking some form of comfort from him, but seeing his face was anything but comforting. He looked angry, angry and sad. Why? Ray thought in between panicked gasps. God, what if it wasn't just her fear? What if the cave really was closing in and wasn't just the phobia? Could he feel the air leaving the room as well?

"Go." He said pointing towards the pool. "I'll be behind you once I turn everything off." He was angry, very angry. But it didn't seem like it was about the small cave slowly becoming smaller..and smaller...and smaller... No, something else was bothering him. Whatever it was he didn't seem to be able to tell in the slightest that she was freaked out. But how could he not know? She'd shouted "this cave is too small!" No, he definitely knew. But he was too angry too care, or he was angry because he didn't care.

Jerk. Fine, she didn't need him. She could get out of the cave just fine without him. Ray snarled at James, "Fine, I'm leaving." She threw the wet towel in his face and after a moment of doubt and a few quick breaths plunged into the icy water. As bad as the cave was, this was worse. The water was dark and cold and in it's icy grip up became down and down up. Ray felt like a million tiny cold needles were poking her skins squeezing, pushing, trying to drown her. Ray resisted the urge to gulp for air as she desperately she clawed her way to the surface.

Reaching the shore she fell onto her back trying to regain some coherency. Stupid James, this was all his fault. If he wasn't such a self centered, obnoxious, Jerk.. Well how was he supposed to know she was claustrophobic? No. Ray pushed the thought aside. Right now she was keeping fear at bay with anger and she'd be damned if she was going to let go of it.

Was it just her, or was the cave spinning?

Ray was slowly recovering from her panic attack when they surrounded her. Four large males surrounding a smaller 16-year-old girl would make anyone worried, the fact that Ray was trying to recover from an attack of claustrophobia didn’t help much.

She propped herself up into a standing position, staggering bit in her still oxygen starved state. Ordinarily Ray would have goaded them into revealing their plans and motives, formed a clever plan, then used her various talents to escape. However, ordinary Ray was currently on leave and in her place was claustrophobia panicked Ray who was having trouble with coherent thoughts.

So when the oldest member of the group started talking about spying and another one started talking about introductions to the pack it took Ray a few seconds to put two and two together.

Rouges… She’d never met any, but she could only assume from what she’d heard about them that they were bad news, and male rogues…

How had they even gotten into the cave? Surely James would have gotten a whiff of their scent..? But then again there was the water, and looking around the cave she didn’t see her shoes so she must have taken a wrong turn under water…

Ray ground her teeth; the best thing to do would be to swim back out while the two rogues fought. But she didn’t want to ever get back in that water, she shuddered at the mere thought of its icy grip. She could call for help from James, but then what? There were four of them; chances were they’d just end up killing him.

She made a snap decision, she needed to escape before they stopped fighting and started taking an interest in their prisoner. After taking a deep breath she took off, sprinting towards a passage in the walls of the cavern. She could only hope it led somewhere, preferably somewhere above ground and close to the pack house or the car.

Aziel Nuroy

Tabby looked uncomfortable, it was like she was trying to avoid Aziel’s gaze at all costs which only amused him slightly. Not once had he met someone who would meet his gaze for any reason other than sizing him up for a fight. It was something he no longer paid much attention too, he was accustomed to being avoided. He did wonder what Tabby was thinking though, whether she was actually taking into account the happenings around her, surely she must have noticed how everyone in the house spoke of wolf related topics from time to time. How they each believed in the truth that stood before her. She would have to notice soon enough anyway, it was for her own good that she realised who her mate was, there will be a time she falls for someone its inevitable for all females. Their wolves want freedom after all and it happens to everyone, even if he had doubts for himself.

He opened his mouth to speak and ask her not to panic in a quick revelation of sympathy just as a voice he recognised too well approached, her hand sliding onto his shoulder its heat making a place there. Lyra, she had always been an inquisitive girl, she tended to know what to do in the right situations unlike that stupid brother of hers. If he becomes Alpha Aziel knew he would leave the pack, there was no way he would be able to live under James, he would rather be a rogue least he hate the thought of it, too much wondering.

Lyra looked to him with a calm pleading, his lips tucked under in a disheartened annoyed response, “She needs to learn what she is before it’s too late” he whispered back to her with a tone that only their wolf ears could hear just as she had speaking to him. He wanted to shift, Tabby had to see the truth and she was definitely going to hate the person who ruins her perfect human life, so why not be him? Better than her hating her brother, Gavin probably wouldn’t have the guts to shift in front of her anyway. Coward.

It was the best decision.

A slight breeze drifted by ruffling through Aziel’s black hair, it brought with it something that made Aziel turn his attention to the doorway of the house however. Adrian stood there, he was calm his features showing nothing more than concern. Adrian was concerned, the thought made Aziel relax his arms slightly releasing a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding, his wolfs rambling keeping him on edge moved away from the front of his mind giving him a slight moment of peace as it normally did within Adrian’s presence. He didn’t want to cause Adrian trouble, which was something he preferred to avoid himself, Adrian was a good man, a good Alpha, and one of the few he had to admit he respected.

Moving to stand between Tabby and Kiyoshi whom Aziel hadn’t paid much attention too, Kiyoshi was never much of a bother to him; Adrian spoke his voice without judgement "Okay...I think I can see what's happening here. Let's just take a minute to look this in the eye, and see if this is really what we want to be doing."
His long stare directly at Aziel made him break the eye contact first, Adrian only ever did that when he wanted him to stop what he was doing. One of the only other times Aziel was given direct eye contact with someone. Aziel was resistant too however, Tabby had to be shown what she was, it was dangerous for her, but Adrian always had a reason for the things he did. Maybe he should take things down a notch, he didn’t mind Tabby hating him, but she shouldn’t hate the others and she did seem liable to do that. She was a bit too fearful of her surroundings after all, almost like a bluddy cat.

With a soft sigh so quiet under his breath that only he knew of its existence he took a step back from Tabby letting Lyra get closer as she began to chat to her along with Adrian. Adrian seemed to have a plan in mind, he probably wouldn’t be so confident otherwise. A twitch of a smirk threatened to smear his face as Adrian mentioned the lance fellow, he always had something up his sleeve, he was Alpha for a reason after all. It seemed to catch Tabby’s attention enough anyway.
She looked at him for a moment as they conversed which made him raise an eyebrow for only a second, yet quickly returned when she mentioned being afraid of wolves!? What kind of girl was this! It was becoming more difficult to remain silent, a werewolf afraid of wolves! The humour of such thing was great yet pitying all at the same time. She would eventually be afraid of herself in due time, including the pack. She was like an extremely injured puppy, helpless and naïve to the dangers ahead. She just had to top it off with a feeble joke about remaining single, if only things were as simple as that. Single or not, the moment she realises she likes someone its over for her. Lyra seemed to understand that well enough though.

As things moved on, and Lance was becoming apparently unreachable, Aziel continued to quietly observe, he looked to Adrian for a moment as Lyra chatted to Tabby something about borrowing clothes.

He lost interest at the mention of clothes.

Adrian suggested a fete which didn’t surprise Aziel, he didn’t like the idea too much though, social gatherings were never his criteria. However what caught his interest slightly was this man lance, nothing much ever happened around here, so an unresponsive human was unusual. Maybe he was just useless with his phone though, never too risky to be on the safe side. With a dignified nod Aziel told Adrian silently that he would tone it down around Tabby somewhat, but he was unwilling to just leave her ‘to the wolves’ as the saying goes.

Lyra left then, to get changed or something, the thought made him look down at his own attire; he was wearing his loose jeans which showed the tips of his boxers and a simple black shirt which he hadn’t even bothered to do up leaving his chest bare for all. He was unlike him to bother much about his appearance, but at the mention of going to town he decided to look slightly presentable choosing to only button up the shirt for improvement. He would just use his biker boots for shoes barefoot at the moment.

As his hand worked on his shirt, Aziel’s wolf had final calmed down and everyone seemed to be moving to get ready to leave for town. He wouldn’t have gone normally, far too social, but he needed to pick up his pay from the mechanic shop he worked at and why not now? It was only Tabby and Kiyoshi that remained other than him.
His lips forming a meek upturn Aziel spoke after his time of silence.

“I’m glad your opening your mind more now girl” he said his tone a little rough but calm “but you’ve got to admit it, you’re like a fish out of water around here.” He raised an eyebrow knowing he was right as he finished buttoning up his shirt only to go and then lift it to tug up his jeans over his boxers before messing with the belt.
“You’ve got a lot to learn, and quickly, however Gavin’s going to be busy with Jac for a few days since she’ll be shifting tomorrow for the first time. Lyra needs to concentrate on her shift too and Kiyoshi will be focused on her also, same for Anya and Duncan. Adrian’s gotta’ keep an eye on everyone and god knows where James took Ray, nor where Kathy and Sid are.” as he was talking Aziel knew what the outcome was already.
He didn’t like it too much, but after hearing that Tabby was afraid of wolves, he had a little sympathy for her, he also knew that the others’ lives were more important at the moment and he couldn’t push that aside. As uncaring as he knew he appeared, he didn’t want to put anyone’s life at risk, but he also didn’t really want to end up a baby sitter.

“Basically” he sighed finishing with his belt tightening it so his boxers didn’t show any more before pulling a hand through his hair in a quick grooming attempt and a check of his stubble growth, it was acceptable. “if you need someone, I’m probably all you’ve got” he gave a smirk but it was laced with the sign he felt obliged. To this girl he was most likely the last person she would want help from considering. Like most people after his change of heart during his teens.
“So please, don’t get into too much trouble” he sighed with a shake of his head saying he expected she would get into some kind of trouble anyway, it would be typical of his luck. Aziel then dived his hand into his left jean pocket pulling out a scrap piece of paper; he frowned tapping the rest of his clothes before finally finding a pen with a quick smile of triumph. He didn’t do that often.

“Here” he wrote down a digit number leaning the paper against the wall of the house before handing it over to Tabby. “Call me if you must, I’ll answer unlike that lance fellow” he rolled his eyes slightly, who was this guy lance anyway? Everyone seemed to know him, he was a little irritated being the only one who seemed not too. His work done, Aziel began to head to the garage to get his Yamaha bike but he stopped as his bare feet reached the grass feeling the soft prickles turning with a smirk. “Of course, I understand if you’d rather not see me again, most people don’t, I have that charm I suppose” he snickered before heading off to the garage. Cars were always too stuffy, bikes were a much preferred vehicle for him.