Kierra

Asher's soft voice whispers through my head, but I don't really have an answer. No single one anyway. I won't think of things for days then it all piles on at once.

I bury a hand into the fur on his head and share with him my confusion on what to do with life these days. Fingers rub deep into the strands as I go back to staring at the table. Need to get some canvases brought up from downstairs soon.

Need to get to some of the commissioned works as well. Art that isn't necessarily done on canvas, but different types of mediums. One being an image burned into a slab of wood while another is burned into a small box then painted.

Art Gallery in Rockford has been wanting a few different prints. Got plenty of models about. I snort aloud, startling the dozing wolf in my lap.

Muttering my apologies, I get up and gather my sketchbook and colored pencils, then return to the couch. Need to get down some quick sketches of things that will be put in ink later. Asher doesn't care for the pad on his head, so he lays with his nose on my knee.

Ideas come from left and right just from all the things that have happened lately. First one is of a dark wolf with intense eyes looking straight out from the page with a piece of the moon around his neck, coming out of a background of shadowed trees with his head held high and proud.

Flipping to a new page, I draw myself. Not actually me, but of a female figure who represents me going through the pain of getting attacked. Bent back on her knees with shredded and bloodied clothes, a look of agony on her face as the shadows around her laugh and leer.

Page gets flipped again; a pale wolf on rocks that overlook a body of water, covered in a thin layer of ice, nose tipped upwards as it sings to the sky. Emotion is conveyed by the colors that rise from around its body along with those that come from its mouth. Nothing's in full-out color yet, but some are put in to add layers where needed, or to define a point.

Page flip. Another pale wolf coaxing a small pup out of a cage that looks like a mouth of some great beast. The starved thing defiant as it looks out from its prison, the large eyes in the background belong to the hungry beast and filled with madness.

Flip. A young woman sits with her back facing the artist, looking over her shoulder with an expression of pain. Feline facial features, shaggy hair, spine ridges raised all the way down her back till it flows into that of a long cats tail. Nude, back legs morphing to elongated paws, a chain links her ankle to the corner of a large bed. A rosette pattern forms on her back that is streaked over scars.

Flip. A young woman's face hovers over that of a middle-aged male whose face is turned towards the artist. Eyes closed, wound on his forehead as well as punctures in his neck. The woman looking agonized as the black and bleeding backdrop has shadowy faces crying, laughing, and mocking.

Flip. A vaguely male face, shadowed features but large slit orange eyes clearly visible face-off with a female with the same shadowed features, but her large eyes are bright green. Both bare sharp white teeth, his with fangs, hers with both top and bottom canines elongated and pointed. In between them sits a small, striped and spotted golden-eyed cat who is looking out with fierce intent.

Just before I can flip to another, the page is held down. Startled, I look up. Faline's eyes are riveted to the page. I hate when she interrupts my flow like that.

"Will you be painting that one?"

I shrug, looking back to it.

"Don't know, just making sketches for right now. Need to get some prints out if everyone wants to keep food in their bellies."

She nods, gaze still on the doodle. It's just a rough draft, but it's obvious who and what is featured.

"Can cancel my classes. With everything else going on, I'm not sure when I'll get back to them."

I frown at her, about to voice my denials when she shakes her head and looks at me.

"There is other stuff going on that's more important than studying for something I can no longer do."

Can't argue that point, but still.

"Can always change subjects..."

Sunset head shakes again, stubborn features set.

"Cancel them. I have plenty of time to go back to them later."

Point, but that isn't the point.

"You can't just give up Faline. Things are different but you're still alive."

She glares at me, walking a few steps away.

"I'm not giving up, just redirecting my focuses. I know the stuff I need to right now when it comes to schooling. Right now I need to learn how to live since I am alive. Online college classes cannot teach me that."

I want to argue, but there's no point. Setting the pad and pencils down on the table, I stand and go to her. Pulling her into a hug that she doesn't want, but I do.

She has aged and grown in the past two weeks we were separated. Maybe not so much physically as mentally and emotionally. Don't think she sees it, but I do, which means mom will as well.

Her baby is no longer the baby she knew. This new one is jaded, but trying hard to stay with us here. Keeping mom in the dark is going to be near impossible.

Especially when combining the new daughter with the males now surrounding both as well as a couple kids that seem to have come out of nowhere. Then of course there's no telling what she's been hearing on the news. That's something I should've been keeping up with.

She wiggles free but takes hold of my hand.

"Cancel the classes. When things quiet down and I know more of what I am, we can go over what's available and talk about it then. For right now trying to keep them up is just a waste of money."

"Are you sure?"

Faline nods, she'd talked about becoming a social worker for children who came from broken homes of abuse and neglect, or a type of councilor. Wanting to help children and prevent them from having to go through what she and I did when we were in the system. There were a few positions she'd been thinking about studying for.

The laws in place and social workers around when we were young were so messed up. There were a few good ones, but they didn't stick around long, wanting to go higher up and try to do more good. Last I knew they're still fighting the good fight.

Here's to hoping I can do my own small part by knocking out some of the filth clogging the system. I send up a promise to any Gods listening that I swear to only use my powers for good. 'Good' being a relative term since it being good for me or someone else isn't exactly good for the one being eliminated.

What's good for the spider isn't good for the fly an all that. I don't see myself as the spider in this scenario though. Hmm.

She goes into her room and closes the door while I walk away, footsteps feeling heavy. With it needing to get done now instead of later since I know she won't change her mind, I make the calls. Even with as early as it is, people will still be in the offices.

One woman I'm about to start bitching out with her trying to get me to sign up for other shit or do this or try that. Me and polite only go so far. It's early, I'm cranky, moody, and this woman isn't helping.

I know she's only doing her job, that's the only reason she gets as much leeway as she does. But this early in the morning, that leeway isn't much. Finally get off the damn phone, ten minutes later, with the makings of a headache.

No fair. Superheroes shouldn't get headaches. So not cool. Asher stays on the couch, having watched me since I got up. Rubbing at my temples while heading downstairs to get a few canvases, I almost step on Maii.

He darts off to the side, but I still overcompensate, jumping down the last few steps. Landing not so gracefully, I look to where he darted as he pokes his head out. White-tipped ears are splayed as his masked face looks guilty. Kneeling down, I hold my hand out to him.

"Sorry Maii, I wasn't watching where I was going. You'd think I'd know to do so with that fat cat I have running around here somewhere."

Smiling, I coax him out, letting him know I'm not mad for him trying to kill me. It's not what he was trying to do... Not actually sure what he was doing, but he wasn't aiming to cause harm.

He comes out slowly, a low whine coming from him. Since he seems to be a little lost without direction, I point to the floor in front of me. That gets him moving faster.

Once he's in front of me with his tail tucked hard, I cup his face in my hands and rub my cheek against his. Small nip to his lip and he's fine once more, tail wagging behind him. Not entirely sure if what I just did was right, but it felt natural.

Rubbing his ears for a moment, I stand and look around. All three dressers are put together and set along the walls inside the sheet enclosed area. Xavier's guitar doesn't fit, but he has a case for it.

Speaking of his guitar, he's sitting against the wall in the nest area and seems to be tuning it, talking to Bastion while he does so. Benjamin is leaning against the wall just outside the sheet, my guess he was watching the boys further down before I provided something more entertaining.

Maii makes his way back over into the nest and sits next to my Imp. Apparently, guitar-speak is very interesting. Confusing jargon if you ask me. I'm not very musically inclined. I just listen to what's good... To me anyway.

Vamp has a crooked smile which I just wave my hand at. Looking around for what I came down for, I mutter my thanks for him putting the dressers together for me. He nods and cocks his head.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing?"

He raises a brow at me, so I take a deep breath, muttering an apology.

"If I could tell what it was you're doing, I would not have asked."

I swear he's trying to irk me. Tossing an old rag at him that was covering some of my enamel paints, I finally find what I'm looking for. Both easel and canvases had gotten tucked behind some tubs.

Was probably me that moved 'em, but I'm still annoyed. Getting them all pulled out, I make use of the male who's doing nothing but smirking at me. Handing him the easel and telling him to follow me, I grab up several of the mediums.

Trekking back upstairs, he lags behind.

"If I were going to kill you, Benji, it wouldn't be by sunlight, you can ease your mind."

He snorts but follows me up. There are a few 'sunbeams', but easily able to go around. Having him lean the array of wooden legs against the hallway next to my bedroom door, I thank him again.

"You know, you're more than welcome to shift if you want. Probably what I would have done by now if I didn't need to get some work done."

He nods yet has a different idea.

"Actually, if you could run back out and grab up some of the folders and briefcase in my backseat, that would be greatly appreciated."

Nodding, I stop for a second, a small smile forming before turning wicked.

"You supposed to be in the office right now?"

He nods slowly, eyeing me warily. I make a happy sound and tug his keys from his hand. Making sure he's not in range of the door's rays when I open it, I retrieve his things.