Thea stared absently out the window, so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed that they arrived at their motel and Elliot parked the car. He studied the side of her heart shaped face. Elliot had always thought Thea was beautiful from they day they met, both inside and out. Her smooth skin held a naturally tan tone, like she had spent a long weekend at the beach, and the sun that poured through the window made her powder blue eyes sparkle with vitality. They were large and almond shaped, rimmed with a curtain of dark lashes and accented with arched brows. Her cheekbones were high and sculpted, her full lips were pursed in thought, and forehead slightly large. Thea's cho plays brown hair tied up in a ponytail, but usually she let it down and it tumbled down her back and to her waist in loose waves, like a slow flowing river. She was a beautiful girl, but it wasn't just her looks that made her beautiful. She was beautiful in her soul.

Her eyes wandered back to Elliot. As he watched, a shy smile spread across her lips, making her eyes scrunch up. "Sorry, I zoned out."

"What were you thinking about?" Elliot asked, turning the key and shutting the car off.

"I just keep wondering about my sister. I mean, it's been six years since we've seen each other. That's a long time." Her brows drew together. "All these what ifs keep circling around in my mind."

"Thea Joy Fay-Marshall, are you actually nervous?"

She crinkled up her nose at him using her full name. She usually just went by Thea Marshall, since despite Fay being such a well know witch family, they were not exactly black-and-white good, and had made a lot of enemies. The last name Marshall brought forward too many memories she preferred to keep locked up, but it also held many good memories for her. "Maybe I'm a little bit nervous.."

Thea was one of those naturally confident souls who didn't have any qualms about making a fool out of herself in front of a large group of people, or doing the things that she wanted to do even when everyone else was laughing, so seeing her nervous was a rare occurrence. She had this spunk about her, this charisma that you couldn't find anywhere else.

"You can't let those thoughts get to you, Thea."

"I know, I know." She w aved him off, but the way she subconsciously shook her right leg, up and down, up and down, told him that what was going on inside her head wasn't nearly as serene as she was acting. "I just need to stop thinking about it. I need a distraction."

"How about we get a room first?" Elliot suggested, climbing out of the car. Thea followed him. She went to get her suitcase from the trunk, but Elliot already had it and was wheeling it across the parking lot along with his. Belle ran after him. "I'm a big girl, you know. I can carry my own stuff."

Big? Thea barely reached his shoulders. She was a little over five feet, maybe 5'3", with wide hips and a small bust. Some people referred to it as pear shaped.

"I'm more than aware you can get your own stuff. I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart."

Thea rolled her eyes so dramatically he thought they might get stuck.

They walked inside laughing, and the clerk gave them a strange look a she handed over the room key. Their room wasn't anything fancy. It opened up into a den type thing complete with a beat up couch, two recliners, and a TV, with the kitchen on the far side and a deep red painted door leading to the bathroom right next to it. There was red another door on the wall to the left of them that lead to a nice sized room with a giant bed.

"I'll sleep on the couch if you want." Elliot offered as Thea took her bags from him and dropped them on the sofa.

She looked at him as if he just offered her his decapitated hand. "Why would you do that? That bed's big enough for the both of us, and besides, I trust you to behave yourself." She winked at him before skipping into the bedroom and throwing herself down on the stiff mattress. "Do you still have that ring Eloise made?" Thea asked as Elliot entered the room.

"I think so," He didn't sound so sure. Elliot scowled and reached into his pocket. Sure enough, there was the ring. He slipped it on. Apparently Wolves were despised in this city, so Thea got one of her witch friends to teach her how to make rings that could mask ones true nature, sort of like glamor.

While she had a massive amount of raw power, Thea didn't really know many spells and chants. She could do the basics without any effort, moving things around, channeling, things like that, and she was especially good at reading auras. But without having the words placed in front of her, Thea couldn't do complicated spells. She had all the raw power in the world, but nothing to channel it into.

Thea's stomach made a loud rumbling noise. Elliot shook his head. Only her. "Let's go grab something to eat before we start searching."

"I could use a good meal." Thea admitted. She hadn't eaten anything since but greasy fast food salads and cheap gas station snacks since they started their journey.

Outside the city was buzzing. There was movement and color everywhere. The sun was bright and the sky cloudless, people were singing and dancing in the streets, tourists snapping pictures left and right. The energy around them was breathtaking.

Elliot gazed around as his surroundings, drinking them in. "I can see why people want to live here."

Thea nodded in agreement. "Me too. It's breathtaking." It had just the right blend of city hustle and bustle and country community that made it very appealing to her.

"Maybe we could stick around for a little?"

Pulling her eyes way from a man banging on his drum on the next street corner, Belle looked up at him, studying him. Did he really just say that? Elliot never wanted to stick around. "Is all that greasy food finally getting to your brain?"

Elliot chuckled."Ha ha. No." He suddenly looked serious. "It's just that you always hate the places we go to, and from what I've seen you don't totally hate it here. It might be good for you to relax, get your mind off your sister for a bit."

"I can't." Thea said adamantly. They had stopped on the corner by the drummer, facing each other a little tensely. She was starting to get angry, and though it took a lot to make that happen, once she was angry there was no stopping her. "I can't get my mind off it. I can't relax. Not until I find her."

"Why not?" Elliot crossed his arms. Thea was like a iron wall once she set her mind do something, unmovable. "You're the one who's always talking about chilling out. You know, taking things one day at a time. You're exhausted Thea, I can see it. so why can't you take you're own advice?"

"Because we're so close!" She yelled. She was upset, angry mostly. Angry because after all the time they spent looking, after all the tears, the frustration, and the blood, and even though he knew how much it meant to her, he wanted to quit right before they finally reached the finish line. "I can feel it. We're so close to finding my sister, and I'm not going to slow down now because I'm a little tired. I'm not going to quit. She wouldn't quit on me."

"Bullshit!" Elliot exclaimed. He threw his hands into the air in exasperation. "It's been two years since I agreed to help you find her, and I still don't get why you're so hellbent on it! She left you Thea! She left you and didn't look back!" He regretted the words immediately after they left his mouth. It was a low blow and Elliot knew it, but she didn't harden like most would, instead the curtain behind her eyes fell, and he could see how much she wanted it, and he could see how much he hurt her.

"Because—!" Her voice broke. Why was she so determined? Tgea asked herself. Why couldn't she bring herself to give up? The answer was simple. And she spoke it, chest still heaving with anger. "Because she's my sister!"

Their gazes burned into each other for a long time, and not in the steamy lovey dovey kind of way. People brushed past, eyes flicking between the warring pair. Thea finally spoke, this time her voice was contained, like she was holding back all of her emotions, afraid to let it overflow. "She's my family."

Elliot cast his eyes downward. God, he felt like such an ass. Thea was hard to piss off, but he knew exactly how to push her buttons, and he had done just that. "Thea—"

"—The food looks good here." She cut him off. She didn't want to fight anymore. He said what he wanted to and made his point. "We should grab something—" A building across the street caught her eyes. Jardin Greis. Grey Garden. The name was familiar, but she couldn't remember from where.

A concerned look made it's way onto his face. "What is it?"

"I'm just gonna go check out that shop across the street." She gestured with her head. "Go grab us a table. I'll be back in five."

Before he could begin to protest, she started to march her way across the street like a puppet on a string. Why was the little building so familiar?

Suddenly pictures flashed in front her eyes. There was a woman out front, an upset woman. Angelica. How Thea knew her name she wasn't sure, but she knew. She was beautiful, with pale blonde hair that fell around her angelic face like silk, and a pair of deep grey eyes. There was a large amount of wisdom in them that contrasted greatly with her youthful appearance. Vampire. She was wore a cloak made of a rich red fabric, the color of blood, and occupied herself by tying her horse, a creature just as beautiful as she, to a post nearby. Finally content with the knot, Angelica cast a wary look down the street before disappearing into the shop.

The pictures suddenly stopped then. A belle jingled overhead as she entered. She didn't even remember crossing the street. Thea, familiar with her vision knew that sometimes she had black outs, peered around the shop curiously.

It was a mess inside, dark too. Everything was placed on shelves disorderly, rows of mismatched herbs, racks with dangling charms, a wall of books. She could barely find her feet in the mess. Thea could see a head moving around above the shelves a little was in front of her, and called out to it.

"Hello?"

"Oh hi!" A pretty waif of a girl moved out from behind a shelve of herbs. She smiled at Belle with her dark eyes. Her skin was a light brown color, and her hair was a short mass of curls a few shades darker. "Sorry, I didn't see you come in."

Thea nodded to their surroundings absently. "I can see why."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to straighten it up in here. I just haven't had the time. You would think that I would though with how calm its been lately..." The girl seemed to notice that she was rambling, and clapped her hands together softly. She seemed to notice how distracted Thea was. "You looking for anything specific?"

"Hnh?" Thea pulled her eyes away from a shelve of portraits on the far side of the room. Angelica was the third portrait in.

The other woman looked over her shoulder to where Belle had been focused. "Those are all the people that owned this store. My ancestors."

"Can you tell me about her?" She pointed.

She hesitated a bit, gazing at Angelica's portrait in admiration. "She's my great, great, great, great grandmother, Angelica Pardune. She was powerful, had an amazing aptitude for visions. She lead our local Coven a hundred and some years ago." Her eyes slid back to Belle warily. It was understandable. Belle was just some stranger asking a lot of questions about her family. "Why are you so curious about her, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I, uh," Thea wasn't sure whether or not to tell her. But she knew that if she was going to live in this town and search for her sister, she needed to make friends with the local people. Who knew, she might even come to consider some of them friends. And after all, Angelica was the girl's ancestor. "I had a vision about her. Though it wasn't anything major. She was just standing outside tying up her horse before walking inside."

KArie grinned. "You're a witch?"

Thea nodded, and she couldn't keep from smiling back. Thea loved people, and she loved making them smile.

She shoved THea's shoulder affectionately, her previous caution thrown out the window. It was amazing how just being of the same people could evoke such a sense of comradeship. "Why didn't you just say so? I'm Katie Pardune."

"Thea Marshall, but you can just call me Thea."

"It's been a while since we've had a new witch in town." Katie said, moving to stand behind the front counter. "What brings you around here?"

"I'm looking for my sister." Katie's eyes lit up as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the glass counter. "She's not a witch." Thea assured. "She's a we—" Glen's words echoed through her head. He slaughtered so many of us I lost count. She stopped herself just in time. "—iner. She's just a wiener. A completely human non-magical non-supernatural wiener."

"That's" Katie scrambled to find something to say. "...no fun."

Thea mentally slapped herself. "You can say that again."

The bell over the door rang, and in walked Elliot. His face was a mask of concern, which only faded once he swept the room. His eyes stayed on Katie for a second, then made contact with Thea.

"You were gone a while." He said sheepishly. Obviously she wasn't in mortal peril like he thought. "I got worried."

"I'm fine." She asserted, still a little ticked off about their earlier argument. Even with that puppy dog face he had on, she wouldn't forgive him, not yet. Not until he bought her lunch. Then she'd think about it. Maybe.

"Good," Seeing that she wasn't going to really acknowledge him any time soon, much less leave her conversation with the cashier, he began to awkwardly shift from foot to foot every couple of seconds. She leaned against the counter, watching him with crossed arms and a entertained look. Finally he cracked. "I'll wait outside."

Katie looked between the two as Elliot exited, but didn't say anything to her.

"I should probably go before he decides to send out an amber alert."

"You know, a bunch of us witches are getting together for a little girls night at a local bar tonight. Want to come?"

Thea grinned, flattered by the invitation. She wasn't aware the effect she had on people. "Yeah, sure. I'd love to meet some new people."

"Alright," Katie scribbled something down on a piece of paper. She held it out to Thea. "Here, text me and I'll send you the address."

"I will do that," Thea slipped it into her pocket and headed towards the door. "See you tonight Katie!"

"See ya!"

Almost as soon as she was clear of the store, Elliot was on her, and he was pissed. "Here I am worried that you're on the ground choking on your own blood, when in fact you're in there having girl talk with the cashier.

"What are you?" Thea sped up her pace. "My mother?"

"Thea." Elliot kept pace with her easily, and she cursed her short legs. Actually, no she didn't. Her legs were averagely sized, Elliot's were humongously long, so she cursed his instead. "Thea!" He grabbed her arm.

"Can you see I'm trying to ignore you?" Thea asked as she wrenched free. For the rest of the walk they didn't speak. Thea trekked ahead angrily, while Elliot followed in his cloud of negativity.

It was only once they got inside that Elliot dared to speak. "Why won't you talk to me?" He asked.

Thea took off her worn converses and threw them down in front of the couch with such force that one of them bounced off in the opposite direction. "I'm mad at you."

"I know," Elliot murmured. Thea kept on with her task of getting ready for bed as he spoke. "I said some really bad things, and it was uncalled for. I was a complete asshole—"

"Yeah, you are." She interrupted. She finally stopped, her focus completely on him. For the second time that day, the two friends had a stand off. This one, however, was less about anger, and more about honesty, about getting to the bottom of some unresloved issues.

Thea's head shook in confusion, the pain glimmering in her moist eyes. "Why would you say those things to me? You know how much this all means, how important I think it is."

"I don't know. I guess I just—" Elliot sighed. He hated that he made her upset, but no matter how much what he was saying could hurt them, he knew she would want him to say it. "I just don't want what we have to end."

"What?" Thea asked, her voice cracking a little at the end. Did he really think that? Her switch from defending herself to assuring him was automatic. It was instinct. "Elliot that would never happen."

"I know," He ran his hand through his hair, a nervous habit. Suddenly he didn't want to say it. He didn't want to change anything. "I know it's stupid."

"No it's not." She insisted. Thea rested her hand firmly on his arm. "No it's not. It's how you feel, that's not stupid."

Her sparking eyes were gazing into his with determination. She wanted him to put it all out there, so he did."But I can't help but be afraid. I mean the only reason we're even together is to find your sister. This is the closest we've ever come. Once we find her, you'll have what you want. You'll have what you've been looking for for years. There'll be no reason for you to stay," He dropped on to the couch. "and I'm scared you won't."

Wow. Thea gaped at him in disbelief. She didn't know he felt that way, and she didn't know he felt that she would just abandon him like others had abandoned her. She would never. She could never. "How can you talk so selfishly?" Elliot reeled back from her touch. He had just spoken his greatest fear, being abandoned again, and that was not the reaction he expected. "Elliot, you're my best friend." She shook her head. "I would never do that. Never. We've been through hell together. If you think that I'd just throw that all away for something like this...you must not know me at all ."

"Except I do know you." He rose from his spot on the cushions. "That's why I'm afraid. I know how much she means to you.

"Don't you know how much you mean to me?" Thea murmured. She threw her arms around him, but he stayed tense. Belle kept her face buried in his neck as she spoke. "The same way Hayley's my sister, you're my brother. Not by blood, by bond. By choice. And I'm not giving that up, ever."

And with that, Elliot's shoulders relaxed.

Well? What do you all think? Feel free to review and let me know! Thanks so much for reading!