*Bez Soznaniya Krasa* Mistik Refuge (BurningWillows & Georgie_Leech)

Nina shuddered, refusing to approach the subject, "So there's that idea. Any ideas of your own Taryn?"

~

"None that come to mind. Honestly you two have puzzled more together than I could alone."

~

Nina nodded, swallowing a large chunk of chicken down with a satisfying smack of her lips, "There's a lot of theories, but its just that...theories. We need more...evidence. Is evidence the word?" she stared at her phone, munching on a bite of lettuce as she searched it up, holding the conversation up, "Yeah, evidence."

She finished up her plates, leaving not a trace behind. Taryn seemed to have relaxed a little, but she still kept a close eye on the exit. Nina took notice but didn't bring it up, uncaring if she left. Instead she looked up at the clock and realized with a start that it was almost seven already.

She swore loudly in Russian, jumping up from the table. She rushed her plates to the counter cutting between the eating area and the kitchen and raced back to the table.

"I have a trail group in five minutes," she breathed, her eyes wild with excitement and dread, "I forgot to tell you Drew. I have a few people from Toronto coming to see the trails. Derek is suppose to come too."

She didn't wait for any goodbyes, waving as she ran out. She was happy she had flats on, making it easier to get to the parking lot than if she wore heels in the soft dirt. As she suspected, Derek sat on the steps leading into the refuge, looking around. When he spotted her he bounced up on his heels, grinning ear to ear. He waved at a small green car and a few more climbed out to join them. Amongst them were a half-demon named Gem, and a married witch and warlock named Becca and Rory.

"You have a lot of friends in Toronto," Nina murmured after hellos and name were exchanged and she started across the grass, leading the group to the narrow opening of the trail, with Derek at her side.

"I gave you poor contacts the first time," Derek nose wrinkled a little, "I hadn't realized the vampyre had become so reclusive. And I was sure the bar was werewolf friendly."

"It wasn't."

"Well I know that now. And the word is out about what happened. Not that there are many wolves left in Toronto besides us, but the bar has been flagged so no one goes into it unknowingly. Vamps are keeping there distance too now, so business has dropped."

"Flagged?"

"Just like the human world, we supernaturals have our gossipers, and our branches of communication. Give the right information to the right people, and it spreads like wildfire. The whole community knows, so no one visiting should wander in there by mistake."

Nina looked back at the three tag-alongs and smiled when Gem gave her a wink, "So what's with this group?"

"Better contacts. Becca is a sister to the leader of the small witch coven in Toronto, and Rory is her husband. Becca's sister, Melanie, doesn't have time to snoop out new areas that would be deemed safe, so often times Becca and Rory get sent," Derek ran his fingers through her dark hair, keeping it unkempt and messy atop his head, "And Gem is one of the seldom journalists we have in our community. She has a small article that many in Toronto use to know all the new joints and happenings around our city. Only supernaturals read it, so if she loves this place-"

"Then she might just write about it, which will bring in clients," Nina finished, trying not to grin to wildly and added, "And I know Melanie. She was nice. Cautious, but nice."

"Where's this trail lead to?" Becca piped up and Nina turned around, walking backward.

"It leads directly to a beautiful waterfall that the creek to your right flows from. The trail also leads past it to a bridge, and beyond. There are many trails within this forest, but this one is have the most traffic."

It was a line she had been practicing since she found out about the hike early the day before. Derek and her had planned to take a hike with Melanie and the other two failed contacts today, but Derek seemed to have taken the liberty of finding better sources. Still, Melanie had sent her sister, and to Nina that was a point in her favor. She hoped there weren't many other questions, as she had little time to memorize anything else.

"Any wildlife?"

"Birds, rodents, I've seen lots of rabbits and a deer or two. Oh and don't forget the wolves."

Gem laughed softly, amused by Nina's joke. Turning back around, Nina led the group to the waterfall, letting them snap photos and take a rest. Derek remained at her side, marveling at the picturesque of the water cascading down the rocks. They continued deeper after a vote won to see the bridge. They didn't get to it though, before Becca's phone went off and then Rory's. The older couple eventually answered the phone to a demanding female voice who sounded less than pleased. They didn't say why or who, but the hike was cut short due to their need to return to Toronto. On the way, Gem fell in line with the two wolves and asked a series of questions, most which Nina knew. Those that she didn't she guessed or made close assumptions on, hoping her vague answers on those wouldn't get her in any trouble in the future. She tried her best to respond in full, although her lack of English wasn't left unnoticed. Gem promised in return for her answers to send her weekly article to Nina when she finished her expose on Mistik Refuge.

"Aren't you going with them?" Nina asked as the three waved there goodbyes from the car.

"Actually I was hoping for a run first, if that's okay."

"Can't," Nina muttered, trying to remain calm although her angry was building again, "Some mudak caught me off guard with a knife and I can't Change for at least a week. But you go. Someone needs to keep the rabbits around here in check."

He chuckled, giving her a sideways hug before loping off into the trees and leaving Nina to stomp into the refuge, tired and suddenly annoyed.

After Nina left, Taryn remembered she had work in the morning and that she also had a report due to her boss by lunch. Jumping up, she excused herself and handed over Jess' notes to Dr. Mor.

"Keep them," she exclaimed, "I have the next five days of steady work, so I won't be any help. Please call me if you find anything."

She scrawled her phone number on the top of one the pages and scurried out of the cafeteria, running across the field to her car.

Mor glanced again at the papers that had turned his life upside down. They failed to offer any convenient insights, obstinately refusing to give up the secrets no doubt hidden in their numbers and letters. He sighed and picked fitfully at his rice, ruminating on everything that had happened today. He couldn't make any sense of it. He felt like he was missing too many pieces; what the code on the papers was concealing, who was behind the murders, if Belua had come back to haunt them, this Jess and her insistence that Mor be involved. Who or what was Oriaen, and why was he supposed to recognise the name?

His thoughts turned over these problems uselessly as Mor finished his rice and moved onto his salad. By the time that was done and he had finished what remained of his chicken, he was no nearer to having understood any of it. He sighed and tried to put the mysteries out of his mind as he went back to his work, but they refused to be ignored, and he spent the rest of the day in a somewhat distracted state.

Time proved no balm either. Mor failed to put it out of his mind even as he went back to his cabin for the evening. His routine was ingrained enough that he could ready himself for bed without thinking too much, but his preoccupation was such that it was difficult anyway. His shoes, normally lined up neatly, were left where he took them off. A cup of herbal tea was left to over-steep. He was so distracted that he even tended to his bonsai unthinkingly, where he would normally take the utmost care. As faceless murderers and mysterious numbers floated through his thoughts, he bent one of the tiny branches too far and it broke with a tiny snap.

Mor immediately hissed in pain as he felt his little finger partially dislocate. Training let him react before he had time to think, immediately elevating his hand and searching his small kitchenette for an ice pack. As he examined the crooked angle of his finger, he mentally berated himself for being so careless. Idiot. You know what happens if you don't take proper care of your tree...

Mor found the ice pack. Gritting his teeth, he braced himself and shoved his finger, muffling a shout of pain. As he waited for the throbbing to subside, he looked at the picture of the smiling woman he kept. One of the last times he could remember his mother smiling.




Drew blinked blearily as the afterimage of the bright flash faded. Though it was a sunny day, the tree in the backyard cast a deep shadow, thick leaves and branches blocking the sunlight. Drew's mother liked to get part of the tree in the picture, not just all of herself and her young Drew.

Drew's birthday had been a few days ago, and he had hoped that being 10 meant he was old enough to get out of the yearly ritual. However, his mother insisted, and now he stood under the weeping oak, sweating in his Sunday best. His hair was slicked back in what his mother assured him was a most handsome way, but he mostly felt greasy. The black dress pants and long-sleeved turtle neck were far too warm for the sunny June day. She was better off, in a floral sundress and a straw hat. A ribbon, pinned to the hat with a flower, fluttered lazily in the faint breeze.

"I still don't see why we have to do this every year," Drew grumbled. He thought the outdoors were fine, but he would have much rather been inside, playing with some of the new action figures he'd been given for his birthday. Mike had managed to find a cool Mr. Fantastic one, with arms that really stretched! It was way better than the toys his mom usually got him. It was nice to get new toys, instead of second-hand ones that were usually half broken or chewed on or something.

His mother laughed softly and ruffled his hair. "Well, Drew, your father can't be here-" There was a hitch in her voice." -can't be here very often. So we take these photographs to show him how much you've grown!" She tried to put on a brave smile, but Drew could see how hollow it was.

"You always say he's coming back." They had had similar talks before. "But I've only ever seen him once. Once!" It had been years ago, when he had been very sick and weak, but he could remember the uncaring green eyes all too well. "All he did was explain what I was, what I needed to do to get stuck with this tree, and then he left!" Drew could feel himself getting more and more angry, as his frustration started to boil over. "He never even said two words to me, passing it through you! I saw you crying and begging him to stay, and he just left without looking back! Face it, he's just a good-for-nothing dryad, who doesn't care about either you or me! He just took advantage of you, made you fall in love with him for his own amusement! He--"

Drew fell back, holding a hand up to his stinging cheek. His mother looked at her hand in horror, as if she couldn't believe she had slapped him. She let out a sob and hugged him to her chest, as he shook with barely repressed fury. "That's not true. He loves us very much," she cried, almost pleading. "Your father loves the both of us, and he'll be back someday. We just need to wait. He'll be back."

She continued on like this, as Drew wondered who she was trying to convince: himself, or her.




Mor shook himself out his memory. That had been the last time they took such a picture; his mother had taken ill a few months later, and never recovered. Her ashes were buried now beneath that same oak tree in the photograph.

He pushed his fingers into his forehead. Normally he was better at not letting himself be afraid to think about unpleasant ideas. He had a perfectly reasonable idea of who Oriaen might be, and the reason a dryad was seeking him out, if not the details of it all. His "father" was a dryad, and Mor, a Changeling: a half-fairy, one with both Fey and Human ancestry. Eventually, his supernatural side would gradually overtake his humanity, a possibility that terrified Mor.

For the most part he was human, though he already bore some signs of his dryad half. His illness in his youth had been the first, as it was the wasting sickness of a dryad too long from its tree. Aparently on the rare occasions dryads had children, they were bound to one of their parents' trees. His mother had learned from his father how Mor could bind himself to a different tree, using a long and painful ritual. Before he set out on his own, he had performed the ritual a second time, transferring his bond from the weeping oak in the backyard into the small bonsai he kept. He didn't like thinking about the ritual much; the pain was excruciating, like having his bones ripped out through his skin.

Coincidence seemed to be going out its way to bring up Mor's history. The first was Nina, and now this mysterious message about Oriaen. It made an uncomfortable amount of sense that it was the name of his father.

Mor sighed. He had chastised Miss Taryn about not being upfront about all she knew about the situation, and here he was keeping major secrets. He knew he should tell Nina, at least. He wasn't sure if he could bring himself to tell Taryn; he had been running from it for so long. Promising himself, he would tell her at the next time it came up, he took out his grey contacts as he readied for bed.

Brilliantly green eyes shut slowly, though little Mor found little rest that night.

Nina caught Taryn on her way out fumbling with her purse in front of her car. The poor girl looked annoyed, shuffling through items stuffed in her brown bag.

"Need help?" Nina asked rhetorically as Taryn spotted her.

"I can't find my keys. I've been standing here for ten minutes looking. They aren't inside, or in the cafeteria. Or in the grass..."

Nina smiled, "They're here."

She picked up a set of keys lying a few inches under the back of Taryn's car. She must have dropped or kicked them accidentally under, and as Taryn sputtered 'thank yous' Nina handed the keys over.

"Need a ride?" Taryn asked as she opened the door in relief.

Derek could take hours to resurface, "Sure."

She sent him a text saying she got a ride and hopped in. The younger girl turned on her car and picked a radio station with an upbeat D.J introducing the next song. The car filled with the dubstep beat of some Top 40 song Nina had never heard and she leaned her head and breathed deeply, exercising all her patience for the long trip ahead.

~~

The next few days flew past in a blur. Taryn had to work till the weekend, and Drew had been able to book a couple appointments. Nina had no way to visit him, and her English books demanded studying, so she spent the first three days cooped up, reading. On Thursday, four days after the attack, she was leaving a voicemail for Drew at the crack of dawn, pacing impatiently around her house. She tugged at her pajama top as she walked in circles, pulling the soft ,thin, red fabric of her tank down as it rode up her stomach.

"Hey Drew. Guess this is too early, huh? Thought you'd like to know I'm healing well. And my English is coming along. Of course I'm slowly going crazy in my apartment reading. Please call back and tell me I can visit on the weekend? Okay. Bye."

Pressing the 'End Call' button, Nina was about to fling her phone on her bed when it started ringing again. Without looking she answered the phone, assuming it was Drew.

"Hey Drew."

"Uh Nina? It's Derek."

Oh.

"Um...hey."

"Did I wake you? Shit. I know it's still pretty early."

"It's only six in the morning," Nina teased, her smile growing, "I guess I'm not the only early bird."

"Nothing like a morning run to start your day," Derek's tone eased up as he relaxed, "How's the healing going anyways?"

"Almost back to normal. I'll be able to take a run by the weekend."

"Only two days to go then. I'm glad to hear that. So Nina, are you busy today? I'm still in Toronto and I have an actual free day, and I was just wondering if...maybe, you'd be free too?"

"How about you pick me up in twenty minutes?"

"Sure."

She let him go, and raced around the room to find clean clothes. Ask Drew how to do laundry, Nina reminded herself, tossing another worn shirt over her shoulder. Eventually she found a clean ivory sundress with an attached black belt that sat high on her waist. She chose heels for once, doning a pair of black straps and letting her hair fall in its natural curls. She still had five minutes left, so she applied some bronze make-up around her eyes, brushed her teeth for the third time that day and left.

Sure enough, Derek was waiting in his SUV outside, listening to some old rock song on the radio. Sliding into the passenger seat Nina gave him her biggest smile as he put the truck in gear and drove slowly away from the building.

"Morning sunshine," Derek greeted, pointing at one of two cups between them, "Coffee?"

She murmured her thanks and sipped at it, "So what do you have planned today?"

"Well we have plans to go eat a wonderful breakfast at this cool breakfast bar I've been to a few times. And then I was thinking of taking us sightseeing. And if you can handle a whole day with me, I'll even buy you dinner."

"How sweet," Nina wrinkled her nose at him, "I haven't seen any of the tourist attractions yet."


After her weekend, Taryn wasn't sure how she would be able to sit behind a desk for five days and work. Her imagination failed to think up all the bouquets of flowers she found scattered on her desk when she did arrive Monday morning. Each one with an apologetic note or condolence about Jess. The aroma of dozens of flowers made her want to gag, and the sad fact that no one cared to come up to her made her angry. Cleaning the flowers off her desk, she put some in her car and the rest in the trash, before starting what turned into a dull week. By Thursday she was pulling her hair out, desperate for Saturday to arrive so she could return to Mistik and ask Dr. Mor has take on the notes, and if he found anything new.

Drew wasn't giving anything up over the phone, so she had to wait for another two days until she could visit in person. And she didn't dare call Nina, knowing the werewolf still had a strong disdain for her, but Taryn could see why. It was obvious Nina had a crush on Dr. Mor, although Taryn was unsure whether he reciprocated the feelings or not. But no girl sits naked in front of a man without blushing, and gets argumentative and possessive when a new girl arrives like Nina had.

At first Taryn supposed the werewolf was just trying to size her up, like any person would do with someone new joined the scene. But Taryn was positive there was more than that, especially when she caught Nina the few times staring at Dr. Mor.

She mulled over these thoughts through the last hour of work and on her way home. She was still puzzling it together when she strolled into her apartment, dropped her bag and flopped onto her bed. Immediately she fell asleep.


As usual, Derek Lorrent's week past by in a blur. He was up at six every morning, getting a few kilometers in with his daily jog. On particularly sunny days, when he had the excess time, he would drive outside the city at take a good run. But this week was hammered with meetings, brunches, work, and meeting potential new clients all over the city. When Thursday hit, Derek woke up as always at six. Throwing his jogging attire on, a baggy blue muscle shirt and a pair of black knee shorts, he checked his schedule before heading out. Suprisingly the day was empty, not a single pen mark on it clocking in a new meeting, or client lunch.

He took a few minutes to double check he wasn't busy, and then he backtracked to his room where his cell phone lay on its charger. By memory he punched in her number, listening to the phone ring twice before her voice answered.

"Hey Drew."

"Uh Nina? It's Derek."

Even over the phone he heard her breathing hitch as she scolded herself silently for the mistake. She was the only person he knew took everything as a personal offense, even if she never admitted it.

He asked her out for the day and she agreed quickly, asking Derek to pick her up in half an hour. Saying goodbye, he dropped his unused jogging clothes in a corner and headed for the shower.

Twenty minutes later he left his hotel room, clean shaven, dressed, and ready to start the day. Since he had no work he left his suit and dress shirts behind opting them out for a pair of dark designer jeans and a grey shirt with a v-neck and short sleeves. He kept his silver watch on, and his sunglasses, but he traded his dress shoes for black sneakers. Jumping into his SUV, he turned up his favorite rock station and pulled out of the parking lot, ready to seize the day.


The werewolves spent the day together, first for an early morning breakfast at a cute diner, and than sightseeing. Since Nina had arrived in Toronto she had yet to explore it, focused on finding work and seeing Drew. With a whole day at their disposal Derek showed her the CN tower, the Rodgers Center, and the waterfront. He toured her around, making historical comments and jokes, and taking pictures with her as they went.

Halfway through the day they found themselves at the Zoo, and proceeded to spend the remainder of daylight coursing through. Derek steered clear of the Canadian wildlife exhibit, knowing but not saying that there were wolves in there. But Nina was too engrossed with the monkeys, flamingos, and her favorite, the Siberian tigers.

"We have these in Russia," she explained, leaning against a railing to watch one as it stalked the fencing near her, "Sibirskiy tigr. They are hunted for their pelts yes?"

"Yeah," Derek joined her, his elbow rubbing hers as he leaned on the railing as well, "I'm pretty sure it's illegal now though."

"I don't pity them," Nina shrugged, "They chased us wolves as much as they hunted their own meals. If they caught one of us it was a feast for them and a sad day for us. Oni nochnyye okhotniki. Sil'nyy, besshumnyy, i smertel'no."

"You know, I don't speak Russian," Derek smiled, nudging her.

"Neither does he," she gestured at the tiger glaring at them as he stalked the fencing.

After the zoo Derek took her to a small Italian restaurant near her apartment. The sun was beginning to set as they slid into a small round booth in the back corner, two glasses of wine already on the table.

"I come here often," Derek smiled, sipping the red wine.

"So you bring all the girls here?" Nina teased, taking her own sip and smiling wider at the delicious taste, "Or just clients?"

"Normally I come alone," Derek retorted, "The owner, and head chef here is a good friend."

Before he could continue the waiter appeared. Without glancing at a menu, Derek ordered two starters, three main dishes, and a salad as a side. When the waiter left Derek leaned over with a smile, "Luckily in Italian restaurants, ordering more is custom."

Then he took another sip and delved into his story about the owner. Derek explained that his job mostly entails making new contacts, and finding clientele. He briefly pointed out that his job title was Outreach Specialist, but he was essentially paid to make friends, which was why he traveled to Toronto so often. His boss was looking to expand from Ottawa and wanted to set up another branch in Toronto, but they needed the clientele base first, and an appropriate bought property to build a new branch.

"You are getting off topic," Nina laughed as the waiter brought their appetizers.

Biting the end off a steaming potato skin, Derek swallowed and continued, "I met the owner's father a few years back. He was a half-demon, see, and he wanted to sell the restaurant before he passed away. The community here knows me well, and so they sent him to me. My employer doesn't need a restaurant though, so I had to turn him down. His only other option was getting his son to take over, but he was reluctant. James, his son, isn't supernatural. Half-demons cannot pass down their supernatural abilities like most of us can. So James is completely human."

"Does he know about any of it?"

"Yeah, he knows all about the community, but his father never wanted him to be a part. He wanted to give James the chance to live a normal life. Anyways James agreed to take over the restaurant, and I helped him set back up. We redecorated, James took night classes to finish his cooking school he was in, and than opened the small restaurant. Lots of the customers are supernatural, but not all. This is one of those gems in Toronto tied to both communities, human and supernatural.
Circling back around to my point, I get free meals here because I know the owner. So enjoy."

"Is that what you do in Toronto then? Help the community out? Get paid for making new contacts?"

"The job is really just my way to get my foot in the door. Helping people is more of something I just like to do. And besides, when I help them in turn they help me. I found Gem -the journalist you met- a publisher. And as you saw I was able to get her to do a piece on Mistik. I met the coven residing in Toronto when I first moved to Ottawa and they had a case of necromancy in the city. I help them, and they trust me. And hey," he waved his half eaten potato skin in the air, "Sometimes I get a little good out of it."

She had never met such a social werewolf. Not that she knew any others, but she had noted that there were no packs within the community, and if any werewolves did live inside Toronto, they hadn't proclaimed themselves. The only packs she did know were the two in the states, the Western and Eastern Packs, whom had their own estates outside of small towns so that they did not attract much attention.

But Derek was different. He had taken Aiden in, and then Nina. He seemed intent on helping anyone who needed it. She started wondering what Derek knew of Aiden, and if that question she’d never been able to answer –why he moved to America- was within Derek’s knowledge.

“So why am I around?” she smiled, showing off her white teeth, “I haven’t offered anything in return.”

“No,” Derek nodded, “And I never expect you to.”

His smile made her cheeks grow warm and she moved on to another topic, “Did Aiden ever ask for help?”

His smile died a little and he shook his head, “No he simply wanted to belong. He reached out to us, and my Alpha was interested in meeting him. He was actually a great fit, but after a week he just vanished. It wasn't until you showed up that we realized he hadn't gone home.”

The question sat on her lips: Is that why you helped me once I got out of that horrid place? Because of Aiden?

Derek could tell the mood was turning sour and pushed the plate of potato skins towards her, "Let's not think about that right now. Why don't we eat before the food gets cold?"

Apart from the potato skins, Derek had ordered a spinach and cheese dip with warm naan bread on the side. When the main entrees came they set two empty plates in front of each of them, and the entrees in the middle of the table. There was a garden salad with a sweet dressing poured over it, as asked for, a pasta carbonara with sliced mushrooms and tomatoes, cheese and beef stuffed cannelloni with a thick meat based sauce poured over them, and lastly cotoletta with red skinned potatoes on the side. Derek explained as Nina took a slice of the cotoletta on her plate that it was just a breaded veal cutlet, with the bone still in. It tasted divine, as did all the other dishes. They each took helpings and dug in, quickly devouring every morsel on the table.

Satisfied and full, Nina was slightly surprised when Derek ordered dessert, two panna cottas with rasberry coulis, and two more glasses of wine. She didn't complain though when the waiter left, feeling at ease in the tiny restaurant, with Derek prattling on about some old adventure he had when he lived in the States.

Dessert came and quickly disappeared, Nina smacking her lips in enjoyment as she savored the last bite. Derek disappeared for a few minutes to talk to James and Nina took the moment to get some fresh air outside and check her phone. As it had been all day it was empty, no calls from Taryn or Drew. Slightly disappointed she turned to find Derek walking out the door grinning ear to ear.

"Where to next, Katerina?"

Taryn woke up to her smoke alarm screaming at her. Her apartment was filled with smoke, making it hard to see a few feet in front of her. Scrambling, she hit the floor beside her bed and crawled to her door which was ajar. Taryn gripped the edge with her hand and let go with a scream, her fingers immediately burnt. Peering around the door all she could see was the hallway from her room into the living room scorched, with flames licking the walls. Beyond that was too filled with smoke to see. She pushed away, crawling to the only window in her room. Taking a deep breath she jumped to her feet, trying to keep from inhaling any of the smoke.

Looking out the window she could see lights flashing below and people spilling onto the streets. The whole building was being evacuated quickly, and she was still trapped in her room. She searched the sides of the window for latches, hoping it would open but found nothing. Falling to her knees she sucked in another breath, wiping away angry tears from the smoke. When she got to her feet again Taryn banged on the glass with her fists, hoping to alert someone. But the drowning sound of sirens cut her out. With desperation she grabbed the alarm clock on her nightstand and threw it as hard as she could into the window. The glass cracked and the arm clock broke into pieces, falling around her.

Fuck! Taryn was on her knees once more, gulping in the air that seemed to grow thinner and thinner. She coughed harshly, inhaling some of the smoke. If I couldn't break through this window, I'm never making it out of here alive. Taryn briefly thought of turning to smoke, but she didn't see any solution in that. It would still leave her struggling to breathe.

Instead she crawled towards her night stand, picking up the small black lamp she had brought across seas with her. It wasn't anything special, but it had always been sturdy. Now she stood and used it as a weapon, smashing the base over and over into the crack glass, hearing the triumph shattering as pieces broke away and she continued to assault the window. Smoke billowed out of the open escape, alerting the firefighters below. She wanted to cry out to them, but her throat was dry and her lungs stung from the smoke. Even with the window smashed wide open, Taryn realized, there was no way down without a ladder,
and the smoke was gathering too quickly to wait for a firefighter to come get her.

Still Taryn tried to wave through the window, her arms pumping desperately. Finally she couldn't hold her breath any longer and with one sharp intake she was on her knees, coughing and gagging on the smoke. Defeated she curled into a ball on the ground, wheezing and hacking as she tried to take in gulps of the air quickly filling with smoke. She had minutes before the whole room was filled with smoke, and no strength to stand back up. The smoke was too thick now, the room thick and black with it.

Got to get out! Got to find a way out!

If only she was a bird. It was an absurd thought, but the smoke was getting to her and Taryn was grasping at whatever came to mind. If she was a bird she could fly out of the window and be free. Her body buzzed in fear, and she let it go, feeling herself expand into shadows. One of her neighbors had a bird -a parrot named Gizzy- who probably woke up his owner when the smoke started. She could see Gizzy flying in the night sky, escaping through the window and letting his rainbow colors whiz through the night air. She closed her eyes, taking another terrible breath of smoke and imagined it, being free of the smoke, of the confines of the walls. Flying free and far from here. She could feel the wind on her face, the currents flowing under her wings keeping her afloat. She was growing delirious and faint and she welcomed it, enjoying her flight away from death.

She took another deep breath and felt the cold air bite at her raw throat, pushing some of the smoke up. She inhaled again, feeling the air nip at her, free of smoke. Her eyes flashed open and she was staring up at the stars, the yellow diamonds dancing amongst the blackened sky. She wasn't in the room anymore. Had she fell unconscious and woken outside? Had someone saved her? She went to look around and ended up looking down with a piercing scream.

Except it wasn't a scream, it was a shrill cry that grated her ears. She was hundreds of feet in the air, staring down at the buildings passing below. How the hell was she flying? Becoming shadows had never granted her this. She had always remained rooted to the ground.

Taryn tried to look at herself but found her head would only crane so much. So she tried to stop flying and somersaulted in the air, losing her balance and plummeting a few feet before she regained herself. She felt the muscles in her arms working fiercely as she saw blue tipped wings with yellow and red feathers dance around her, keeping her afloat.

Wings? WINGS!

She tried to scream again but it came out as a squawk. A parrot’s squawk. She was a parrot. She looked at her feet and saw grey talons. Her arms -wings- flapped to keep her in the air. Slowly she turned around to see a tower of smoke, the flashing lights of emergency vehicles and the hiss and crackle of flames.

I found a way out, she thought incredulously. Taryn didn't know how, but she escaped. Righting herself, she aimed in the general direction of the Refuge, and started flying. Her wings found a strong wind current and she glided with it, learning quickly how to maneuver herself with the wind. She was terrified and thrilled at the same time; she was alive but she wasn't human.

Dr. Mor will know what to do, she reminded herself over and over, Find him and he can find a way to switch back.

Despite Mor's earlier resolve, he had little opportunity to act on it. Nina had actually taken his advice to take it easy to heart, and she was apparently staying at home. When she came by after a few days to get her bandages changed, she was clearly grumpy from being cooped up. He tried to get through it as quickly as possible. She almost stomped off after he told her it would be another few days before she could transform. Unusually for her, she had made no comment about the splint on his finger. He felt a brief pang of jealousy for her healing abilities; he'd be stuck with it for at least a few weeks.

Nina had clearly worked some sort of miracle before she was injured, as there was suddenly a great deal of interest in Mistik. Trying to keep all the appointments organised was proving to be a bit of a headache. Mor was reluctant to let Miss Jones handle anything more than the general bookings, as he was reasonably sure she wasn't clued in to the supernatural, and almost certainly couldn't keep it a secret if she stumbled onto it. He didn't think it worth the risk, but if business kept increasing like this, he'd have to find someone else he could trust. So far at least most of the interest was just in short visits, mostly for the nature trail. That said, a mousy-looking fellow made a reservation for the weekend, and a few people made appointments for counseling sessions. He suspected they were more for sizing him up than any real attempt at seeking help.

Thurday morning, Mor slept in. He had been up late the night before testing out a new remedy on his bonsai. He had had a thought that if injuries to his tree carried over to him, that healing should also be transferred. Unfortunately, trees didn't repair themselves in quite the same way as living creatures did, so Mor used a few of the herbs from his garden to fashion a sort of paste, to see if he could bind the tiny branch back in place. It was less than successful. It didn't damage the bonsai any further, but apparently the glue was acidic enough to irritate the tree. Though it couldn't feel an itch, Mor certainly could, and he had no luck falling asleep until his finger stopped feeling like it had been dipped in poison ivy extract. It had taken hours.

He had missed a call from Nina, but he had no time to respond, as he had a few tours to lead today, and he had to go into town to pick up the components of the medicine he had mentioned to Nina. Though she had indicated that she wasn't interested this time, Mor figured figured it was a good idea to have them on hand, in case something more serious happened. He also had to check through his notes on anything that might give a clue as to Taryn's nature. He had a feeling that they would need every advantage they could get, if the murders started up again. There had been a lull over the last week; even the news stations were starting to drop it.

By the time Mor had finished everything he needed to do, the sun was beginning to set. Sighing, he returned to his cabin. It was late for a call, but he could at least send a text to Nina, saying that she could visit the next day if she felt up to it.

Mor was just about ready for bed when he heard a tapping and scratching at his window. Sighing, he went to shoo off whatever squirrel had gotten curious. To his surprise, it wasn't a rodent, but a brightly coloured parrot! What on earth...? Did it come from the zoo? What is it doing here? He opened the door to see if he could coax it inside. It seemed a good idea to hold on to it. It might have been an exotic pet, or from the zoo, and either way he felt like he should try to return it.

As soon as he opened the door, the parrot squawked and flew right in, landing heavily on the floor. Could it be injured? It stared up at him and squawked angrily. It almost seemed like it was yelling at him, the way it carried on. Mor was thoroughly confused. This would be a lot simpler if it could actually speak and not just mimic it.

He knew that he should try and calm it down, so he spoke softly. "Easy there, little one. I'm going to get you some water, okay? Try to keep still." If anything, it seemed to aggravate the bird further, as it hopped around, shrieking. "Some food then?" It got even louder. Mor ran his fingers through his hair. "What do you want from me then?" He asked rhetorically. He was getting frustrated.

Taryn yelled furiously at him from the floor. Or she would of, if all her yelling didn't come from a beak. Instead she sounded like a crazed bird, slipping on the floor she had landed ungracefully on and flapping her wings to keep her right side up. Mor looked like he was losing patience too, watching her panic attack with growing weariness.

Finally she couldn't stand the floor anymore and pumped her wings to rise into the air again. She contemplated perching on a chair, but the knowledge of flight control was well beyond her reach, and the idea of trying to land in one spot seemed impossible when she wasn't sure how to stop in mid-air. So she soared around the cabin, trying hard to keep from smashing into walls and the like. Finally she got low enough the she landed -crashed - onto his nightstand beside a tiny tree. As she desperately fought to regain her footing her wing knocked into the tree, pushing it to the edge of the nightstand.

Mor was beside her instantly, reaching for the tree before it fell. She hopped away, better at the walking than the flying. One of her talons caught on a tiny stack of papers and ripped it, catching Taryn's ear. With her eyes on either side it was hard at first for her to read. She wondered how odd it looked to Dr. Mor to see a parrot on his nightstand with her head cocked to one side, one eye closed so the other can focus on the words.

She recognized the top paper, a photocopy of some of the notes she had given him. The next was a list of mythological creatures, which she skipped and pushed off the nightstand with her talons to read the next. The second to last was the letter Jessica had sent to Taryn, bold highlights over pieces of it that Dr. Mor must have deemed important.

With a loud shriek she bent down and tried to lift the paper in her beak. The feeling was odd, and she slipped a few times before finally suceeding. Hopping in her spot Taryn made garbled squawks as she regained his attention from the tree, waving the slip of paper in her beak. Please, Taryn wanted to say, It's me! I'm a bloody parrot Dr. Mor.


Nina decided on her apartment to Derek's disappointment; the Russian wolf was growing tired from her busy day. She had yet to complain about her injury, or that her feet were probably aching in her heels. While he wanted to spend more of the night with her, he understood her exhaustion. They drove back in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company over conversation.

When they got back to the apartment, Nina checked her phone before hopping out. Derek followed her to the door, both from ingrained manners and a want to be around her for even a few more seconds.

"Drew wants to see me tomorrow," Nina murmured mostly to herself.

"Need a ride? I'm heading back to Ottawa tomorrow. I can drop you off before I leave."

Nina turned back with her mega-watt smile that melted his heart, "Please? It would be nice to see Drew. And I haven't been able to do any of the tours on the nature trails this week."

"Of course. I have to drop you off early though. Would ten be fine?"

She nodded and furiously tapped away at her phone, forwarding the plan to Drew. Derek waited patiently, ignoring the twinge of envy he felt when she brought her friend up. Finally she finished texting and looked up at him with a smile, confusion in her eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," she exclaimed, giving him a brief hug and a light kiss on the cheek before disappearing into her apartment building.

Grudgingly Derek dragged himself back to his SUV, feeling mostly deflated and put out. While the day had gone wonderfully, her goodbye seemed a little too quick. He wanted to mull over it but told himself not to, turning his radio on high to blare the jealous and depressing thoughts from his mind. With his day finished Derek slowly drove himself back to his hotel, ready for a hot shower and some sleep.

Mor was wondering if he should call animal control when the parrot gave a feeble hop and took to the air again. In the cabin though it had no room to maneuver and it nearly crashed repeatedly as it flew around in a panic. He rushed to open the door so it wouldn't hurt itself, but it instead flew into his room. A sharp rattle told him that the bird had hit his night stand. Rushing over, his heart gave a lurch as he saw the bird nearly push his bonsai off the edge. He nearly dived across the room in his haste to reach it before it fell. He hurriedly checked it over to make sure nothing else had broken.

Rustling paper caught his ear, and he looked up to see the parrot scratching at the papers he had been given by Taryn. It was tossing them to the floor. "Hey, get away from there!" This parrot was proving to be a real handful, and he was about to make the call to animal services when he noticed the parrot had grabbed a piece of paper in its beak. He tried to grab it back, but it kept dancing just out of reach. Each time, it would shake the paper a little harder. As if it was trying to get him to notice something.

Mor stilled himself for a moment, then calmly held out his hand. It seemed crazy, but if the bird was trying to get him to notice something, maybe it would respond better like this. To his surprise, the parrot did hand it to him, clumsily hopping over and dropping the paper in his hand. It was the letter Jess had written Taryn. If the bird was trying to show him something...

"Taryn?" Mor asked incredulously.

Spitting out the paper in his hand Taryn took a step back, narrowly dodging the tree this time. She watched as the light when on in his head, his eyes wandering from the letter to Taryn as he put the puzzle pieces together.

"Taryn," he asked incredulously.

Her small head nodded vigorously, shaking her whole body. A giant weight lifted off her shoulders as her message finally got through. He figured it out. He can reverse this!

Her tiny body shook, ruffling her feathers as she sighed in relief, which came out as almost a whistle. Dr. Mor seemed amazed at her transformation, although she preferred to stay terrified of it. No one should be able to turn into a bird, she thought, Especially without knowing when they became a bird!

As she settled, relief washing over her, she felt an all too familiar buzz deep in her stomach. The buzz turned into a thrum that shook her body in uncontrollable shivers. Taryn squawked and lifted her wings, taking flight as the shaking worsened. Without stopping she crashed into one of the walls of the living room, sliding down into the corner.

Breathe, she instructed, shutting her eyes to the world and focusing on the thoughts, Keep breathing.

This time Taryn felt her body expand, bursting from it's tiny frame into the larger shadow of herself. When she felt like she was all smoke she focused on resolidifying into her human form. It always felt weird, contracting her shadow self back into a solid state. It took her more than a few minutes to regain her body, coaching herself along.

The instant she felt everything snap together she opened her eyes. She was curled up in the corner, her knees pressing against her chin. Her first fear was that she would be naked, but looking down she found her clothes still on. She hadn't even put pajamas on before falling asleep, so she was still in her black work pants and a violet blouse.

"How?" she whispered, instantly grateful to hear her own voice, "Dr. Mor?"

Mor took a moment to adjust. It was one thing to know about the supernatural, and to have a suspicion about who the bird that just flew into your home was. It was another thing entirely to see said bird turn into a girl before your eyes. Nothing really prepares you for that kind of shock. He knelt next to her. "I'm not sure, Miss Taryn. What happened? Why were you a bird?"

Nina slowly made her way up to her apartment, too busy chewing on her thoughts to move any faster. The day had been wonderful but she felt like she was missing something. When she said goodbye, Derek almost looked put out. Musing over his disappointed look she wandered down the corridor to her apartment door, unlocking it and stepping in. Her place was pitch black, but her eyes adjusted quickly.

Nina was one foot in the door when she stopped dead, breathing in slowly. She could smell him in the room, the familiar scent from the weekend. The door was still open and she contemplated backing up and leaving, but Nina also knew she wouldn't get any answers this way. Her eyes had adjusted enough to the dark and she could see his silhouette in the middle of her living room, standing and waiting. Fear and anger bubbled up and Nina pushed them down, thinking about how Drew or Derek would handle this. They would start off calm.

Calm wasn't the vibe she was giving off as she kicked the door closed, and dropped her purse on the floor. Then she took each of her heels off, her feet relieved to be out of the tight shoes.

"I know you're here," Nina started, keeping her eye on the silhouette, "If you've come to finish the job, I'd like to just say stalking a wolf in the dark is not a great start. Neither is coming days after when I've mostly healed."

"I'm not stalking, and I'm not stupid enough to attack a werewolf when I'm in less than ideal health."

Nina hit the light switch on the wall against the kitchen, flooding the living room with light. Her attacker stood there, his baseball cap still pulled low enough to hide his eyes and hair. He was dressed in a beige jacket now and jeans, but one of his jean legs were rolled up high enough to show off a cast.

Nina felt a surge of pride in herself to see she had left the fight less harmed. He scowled at her obvious enjoyment plastered on her face, and she scowled right back.

"I came to talk," he explained, his words clipped.

"You really are not the brightest," Nina crossed her arms over her chest and stood her ground in her front entrance, "Breaking into my apartment after stabbing me doesn't make me want to talk."

"Give me five minutes," he begged, judging the space between them with worry, "Five minutes before you do anything rash."


Taryn sat up, running her fingers through her hair. Her body reeked of smoke fumes which only reminded her of everything that happened.

"There was a fire," she gushed, the words tumbling out faster and faster, "I came home from work and fell asleep and woke up and there was smoke everywhere. And the sirens were screaming, and people were evacuating, and my apartment was on fire. And I couldn't get through the door, because everything was too hot, so I tried to smash the window open, but I couldn't. And then I did, and some of the smoke billowed out and got caught in my lungs. And the firefighters couldn't hear me over the sirens and flames, and I thought I was going to die. I was going to die. I couldn't get out, and the smoke got worse and worse. Finally I just turned to smoke myself. I was going to die anyways right? And then I started to think about birds, specifically the parrot that one of my neighbors have, and I was delirious and the smoke was too much. And then...then I was flying. And I opened my eyes, and I was in the sky. I was a bird! A bird! And all I could think of was that you could find a way to change me back, so I flew here, which was exhausting. And when you finally realized it was me I relaxed and turned back to smoke. So I guess all I needed to do was relax, right? I mean maybe if I had relaxed I would have changed back sooner.
Oh, but my apartment. It's gone isn't it? The laptop was in there! And all my things. How can I relax when I just lost my home? And then became a parrot! How did that happen? Oh my god, am I like Nina...am I a were...thingy. A were-parrot? I don't want to turn into a parrot all the time! I....I...."

Taryn took large gulps of air, blinking back tears, "What am I going to do?"

Mor could see that Taryn was in the beginning stages of a panic attack. Speaking softly but quickly, he hoped to head it off before it could spiral out of control. First things first, she needs to be reassured that she's safe. "It's okay, the important thing is that you made it through this. You're out of any danger, and you can stay here as long as you need. There's more than enough room to stay at Mistik if you want."

Taryn took long gulps of air, trying to listen to Dr. Mor's words.

"Yes. Stay here. Out of danger. Mhm."

She wasn't completely registering his words, but she did hear his phone go off and jumped from the sudden ringing noise.


Nina gave him his five minutes and than reluctantly let him leave. She watched him walk down the corridor and enter the elevator before whipping her phone out and dialing Drew's number.

She wanted to be calm. Nina wanted to speak rationally to him. But the strangers words cut deep and she couldn't help but feel frustrated and confused.

"C'mon Drew pick up," she argued at her ringing phone, "vybrat' chertov telefon do!"

Mor groaned when his phone went off, seeing Taryn give a sudden start. This was a terrible time for something to surprise her. "It's okay, it's just my phone. I need to see who it is, just in case, but this shouldn't be more than a moment."

He reached into his pocket and saw that it was Nina calling. It was possible that she was just calling about her side, but she had never called him this late before. Mor got a sinking feeling that something was wrong. Why does everything always have to happen all at once? Would it really be so terrible for situations to pop up in nice, manageable chunks? "It's Nina calling, Taryn. I need to see what she wants, and if you like, you could talk to her as well. Is that alright?" As potentially important as this call was, Taryn's panic attack was a little more urgent. When she nodded, he answered the phone, anxious as to what it could possibly be.

She didn't let him even get through the word hello before interupting him, "You knew!"

Be calm, Nina tried to instruct herself but her words were clipped and full of anger, "You knew, and you chose to keep it to yourself. You've known from the chertov start and you CHOSE not to tell us. To tell me!"

Her voice was rising too high, but delegating this wasn't a quality she had or wanted any longer. A part of her felt like raging over the phone at him, but another part wanted to hang up on him and move back to Russia. And yet another part just wanted to know why.

"Your father says hello Drew," she snapped.

She couldn't get any more words out, her throat closing up so she pressed the end call button and threw her phone across the room. Sulkily she moved into her bedroom, curled up in her blankets on the floor and tried to sleep. When that failed she returned to her English studies, hoping to take her mind off things. Still her attention was diverted and with a loud sigh at midnight she finally turned to the notes Drew had photocopied and sent her home with when she had visited a couple days before to check her injury.

Taking out a black sharpie from her very small collection of pens, she went over all the notes again, from the new angle her stab-happy stranger had given her. It wasn't much, but it kept her busy through the sleepless night.


Taryn had heard the whole conversation, Nina's loud voice filling the entire cabin in her rage. Wiping tears away she listened closely and gauged Drew's reaction. What's going on?

When Nina said he knew from the start, Taryn started to worry she was referring to the murders. Drew wasn't keeping information, was he? Why would he hide anything?

"Your father says hello Drew," rang through the cabin loudly, thickening the air in seconds as Drew's face paled and the words lingered around them.

His father? Wait is his father the one...no...

She was already backed into a corner, but with the night she had Taryn had more than enough adrenaline pumping through her to kick him away if she needed. She got into a crouched position, ready to fight her way out if she needed to. But he didn't move towards her. It looked like he barely registered that she was in the room, present through the whole phone call. Taryn was able to move around him into the middle of the room without so much as a glance, and that worried her more than thinking he was going to fight her.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked, her voice dangerously low, "Mor, what did you do?"

Mor stood there in shock. He couldn't comprehend what had just happened. His thoughts were racing. I knew what? She knows about my father? How?! Is he here? How would he know her? Was it someone else who told her? Who else would know? The only other person that knew... well, mother died over ten years ago. There shouldn't be anyone else who had any idea! Was it possible that someone pieced it together? Again, who? Where did they get the clues to piece it together?

Abruptly, he realised that Taryn had backed away in fear. In her state, something like this was bound to be upsetting. He cast his mind back, trying to remember what she had just asked him. "Frankly, that's a very good question. I wish I knew what just happened."

"That's not good enough," Taryn retorted, trying to pull all her courage together, "Who's your father? Why is Nina so upset about finding out about him? If you don't tell me what's going on, I swear I will call the cops!"

Mor sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot these days. "To cut a long story short, he's likely this Oriaen you mentioned." This was going to be difficult. "I'm not... actually human. Or at least, not fully human. My father was- is, a dryad. I'm half-fairy. It's... really not something I like to talk about." He paused for breath. "I never really lied to Nina, but I never disabused her of the idea I wasn't supernatural."

Mor put his head in his hands and rubbed at his eyes. "Somehow, she apparently learned who he was, and I imagine she feels betrayed that I never told her. She has every right to it. So do you. There I was chastising you for not telling us everything, and I let my own insecurities blind me to my own hypocrisy. I've got my own history that I just don't think about."

He looked up at Taryn, meeting her eyes. "I'm not sure what I've done merits getting the police involved, but I understand if you don't trust me anymore either. At this point I'm involved whether I like it or not, but if you'd prefer to work on your own, I won't stop you."

She only gripped her phone tighter, "Is he the killer than? Is he the one doing all this? Did he kill Jess? Is that why Nina is upset? What's going on?"

Taryn took a deep breath, trying to catch up on everything falling around her, "Just answer me this. Do you know if he is in Toronto? Is he murdering people? You need to be completely honest with me. You should want to be completely honest with me, it'll only take me seconds to call the cops. Are you, in any way, affiliated with this serial killer running rapid through the city?"

Mor's fist slowly tightened as he thought about his father. "While he was a cold, emotionally distant bastard who never cared about myself or my mother, who I've seen all of twice in my life, and is one of the few people on this world that I can honestly say I hate, I can't see him as a murderer. I have nothing to say he isn't, but nothing that says he is either. If Nina knows something more, I haven't been let in on it yet. Nina was upset enough that I think you heard the entirety of our "conversation" just now. I have no idea what's going on, I don't know what any of this has to do with me or my "father," and I wish someone would just explain what the hell is happening."

Mor sighed yet again. "Part of being a Changeling, a half-faerie, is that I share some of their weaknesses. I'm allergic to iron, for instance, and more relevant, it's physically painful to tell a direct lie. I've been completely honest here. I could be mistaken, but it's at least honestly mistaken. I don't know what else I can do to convince you."

Something in her gut told Taryn he was being painfully honest and she let her phone slip back into her pocket, grateful she had forgotten to take it out of her jeans before falling asleep.

Taryn collapsed on a chair in the kitchen with weary eyes, "I believe you. Now it's Katerina who needs convincing. An angry werewolf isn't the healthiest thing to have around, you know? You should talk to her soon, before she does something rash."

Taryn looked around as Drew collected himself. She waited until he seemed a little more put together before asking, "Is there anywhere on this Refuge I could sleep for the night? I don't really have an apartment any longer."

The words stung, knowing she had lost everything except the clothes on her back and her phone. Tomorrow she would have to find a way back into the city, to see her destroyed apartment building, and talk to her insurance company.

Finally, a problem that Mor could actually help with. "You can stay in one of the guest rooms at the main lodge for now. It won't be as nice as city life, but they're at least a match for a decent hotel room." He shook of his lingering worry about Nina and put his shoes on. He held the door open for Taryn, then locked it behind him.

As he led Taryn to the lodge, he continued talking. "And yes, I do need to get this straightened out with Nina. The funny thing is, I was actually planning on talking to the both of you about the dryad thing the next chance we had, since it finally occurred to me what Oriaen might mean. You were busy with work though, and Nina was in a foul mood for being stuck at home resting from her injury. The timing didn't seem right." Mor ran his fingers through his hair. "I just hope it isn't too late now."

Miss Jones had already returned home for the evening, so Mor went behind the desk and grabbed a key from one of the drawers. Unlocking a separate drawer, he grabbed one of the card keys at random, which happened to be for 2C. He then showed her the way to room. "Each room has some basic amenities and a washroom. There isn't anything in the main building if you're hungry, but I can get some food from the mess hall if you need. I don't know what it entails, but I imagine turning into a parrot probably takes it out of you."

"Actually I'm really not hungry," Taryn muttered, feeling a little queasy thinking about the parrot transformation, "Sleep is all I need. So what are these rooms usually for? Vacationers?"

Mor coughed. He didn't think it was a good time to be regaling her with his plans for a safe haven, but it was hard to ignore the urge to talk about it when someone appeared even half way interested. It had been hard keeping it secret from the few people he was working with, and now he was nearly bursting to tell. "Sort of. I'll save the whole spiel for later, but my hope is that Mistik will be, well, a refuge for the supernatural community when they want to get away from city life." There, that would have to suffice. He shook his head. "If I start talking about it I'll be here all night, and you need your rest. The phone on the bedside table is meant for calling the front desk, but if you hit *46 first, you'll be able to call my cell phone if you need. Do you want me to write the number for you, or can you just remember it?"

Taryn pulled out her phone and added his cell number to it, grateful again for having at least one personal belonging survive the fire. After that she said goodnight and closed the door.

The room was quite simple: It had a coat rack between the front door and a small door on her right, which led into a bathroom. The bathroom was small, with only enough room for a small sink on one wall, the toilet on the far wall, and a walk-in shower stall on the other wall. To the left of the front entrance looked to be the remanants of a kitchenette, the tile flooring still there but with no cupboards, counters, or appliances. Taryn didn't find that worrying though, with a fully staffed cafeteria only minutes away. The rest of the room was wide open and spacious, more space than she had thought there would be for one of the rooms. In the right corner was two double beds, cleans sheets and blankets spread out on each. On the farthest wall in the center was a sliding door leading to a balcony. Upon inspecting she found it connected to the other rooms balconies, only a glass railing splitting hers from the others.

Yawning she returned inside and picked a bed at random, crawling in after stripping her smoky clothing and leaving it at the foot of the bed. After her evening nap she thought sleep would be hard to come by but she passed out only minutes after her head hit the pillow.

Taryn didn't wake till sunlight hit her closed eyes, stirring her from a dream.
The night before she hadn't realized the nightstand between the beds with a phone and a small radio. She called down to Miss Jones to ask for the cafeteria's breakfast times than promptly took a shower and got dressed in her only clothes.

Making her way downstairs she stopped at the front desk and left a note with Miss Jones to find.

"I don't want to wake him, so can you just tell him I'll wait in the cafeteria and that if he could give me a ride into Toronto whenever he is free I would be super grateful. Also can I borrow that printer?"

Miss Jones looked slightly confused and Taryn used her confusion to print off a few forms before she could say no. Grabbing breakfast and hunkering down at a table in the corner, Taryn pulled out the pen she swiped from the front desk and filled out the paperwork she had pulled off the internet from her insurance company. She needed accident reports filled for them, and than additional phone calls to her work and her landlord.

By the time Dr. Mor appeared she had all the paperwork for her insurance filled, and had already spent a good hour arguing with her landlord after a short call to her boss.

As she approached she blurted out, "I hope there isn't any more foul news, 'cause I'm having a horrible morning."


By seven am Nina was exhausted and sipping on a coffee on the floor of her living room with Derek sprawled beside her. In front of them the notes were spread out in a disorganised fashion, highlighted strips across each page.

"So instead of sleeping you did this?" Derek asked, sipping his own hot coffee and munching on a bagel from a assorted pastries sitting between them.

"It was that or stare at a wall all night, because I couldn't sleep," Nina snapped, tearing off an end of a croissant and popping it in her mouth.

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" Derek asked, "Your angry, I understand that...but without telling me why your mad at Drew I don't see why sleep effects this matter."

"It's not something I want to discuss with anyone," Nina chomped on her croissant, "Can we focus on the notes?"

"No," Derek sat up with a flat expression, "You let a stranger into your apartment-"

"He broke in."

"-and you won't tell anyone what he said. You just chewed Drew's head off about his father, which you've yet to explain to me and than hung up."

"I called for support here, not a advise. I already have one therapist and he's been lying to me."

"About what?"

"Mal'chik , ty upryamyy! Kak sobaka s kost'yu."

"English Katerina," her name came out in almost a growl making her shut down further.

"Derek, this is between me and Drew and-"

"I understand that all I want to know is what the stranger said that got you upset. What kind of lie was it, little wolf?" his voice took a softer tone as he noticed her stiffening from their escalating argument.

Out of everyone Nina knew, only Derek saw the signs when she moved past an argument and just shut the person out. She rarely did it, choosing more often than not to continue arguing. So Nina still was unsure how Derek picked up on her ques, but she chalked it up to werewolf instinct.

She also distinctly noted his choice of nicknames, calling her the one he used when he was being sweet on her. It was something Aiden had started calling her when they were in human form. She had always been a small wolf, quite smaller than the average Eurasian Arctic wolf. Once Aiden had overgrown her he had started referring to her as 'little wolf'. Now Derek used it, and she tolerated it because even with all her sadness over Aiden, hearing the nickname also made her smile.

Don't, Nina warned herself looking over at him, Don't drag him into this too.

"Let me talk to Drew first about it okay?" Nina replied, "It should be heard by him first."

"When are you going to talk to him?"

"When the urge to punch him goes away," she growled, picking up a strawberry turnover and biting into the sweet pastry.