A/N: Hey there, hi there, ho there! Thank you for the reviews last chapter guys! Ya make a girl feel happy :D

Okay, reviewer Torben wondered about the Hurt/Comfort genre of this story, and I wanted to say that it'll take a while but there will be some sad times in the future. When it comes maybe some will classify it as Drama but I see it differently, so that's why I also set it up as Hurt/Comfort. Well there will be some drama, I just don't see why we can't have three genre types…or more…because I actually have a lot of elements to this story; it's a whirlwind of emotions, cultures, and twists and turns!

Anyway, once again thanks for the reviews loves. Keep them coming. I had no idea you guys would like it this much so I'll continue with it. Onward we shall go!

I'm walking around a forest. Thick fog surrounds the area and I can't see too far ahead of me. There are soothing sounds all around me; there's my steady breathing, trickling water in the distance, wings flapping of a flock of birds, little creatures scurrying about, and the occasional chirp of a cricket. I can smell the damp soil beneath my feet, the leaves, bark of spruce trees, and the plants around them. Goosebumps are forming all over my pale skin, and I look down and notice that I'm completely naked. I don't bother to shield myself from anything, for I'm utterly at ease. Nature has totally enveloped me and I loved every second of it.

Not at all fearful of moving forward, I take light steps in front of me to get a better understanding of just where I am and where I'm going. I continue to walk aimlessly for a while longer until I hear soft whimpering. I stop to listen for the source of the noise and then I see little gray, fuzzy figures crawling over one another. The closer I get the figures start to become clearer, and I can't stop the smile that spreads across my face. There are about five tiny wolf pups in a few different colors piled on top of each other and tumbling over across the ground. One sees me as I draw closer and starts trotting towards me, and then the rest follow suit. I find that these pups are now playfully tackling me as I sink to the forest floor. I scratch along their ears and they nuzzle against my skin in approval. I notice that one pup moves away and turns its back to the rest of us and tries its best to howl; the rest of the litter does the same. I look up to see if maybe they're calling their mother, but something else is standing in the midst of the fog. There, staring back at me is a pair of sky blue irises with an equally blue center.

She emerges from the fog altogether and I see that she's as naked as I am; only her breasts are blanketed by her long brown, white-streaked hair. I turn my head away sharply and blush at what was previously in my line of vision. Instead I focus on the still very active pups playing around me. Next thing I know a hand gently cups my chin and guides my head so that those mesmerizing eyes are locked with mine. She's crouched down on the ground with one knee in the dirt—half sitting and making her tower just above me as I sit completely—and she's just so close, I feel her breath fan across my face.

"They really like you," she chuckled softly. "I am impressed. They normally do not take kindly to strangers; that or they are frightened." She pauses to slowly run her hand through my hair, never breaking eye contact. I inhale a sharp breath and marvel at her gentleness. "You must be something special," she said in above a whisper. I click my tongue at her words and roll my eyes in a playful manner.

"I'm not so special. But you are," I say with a grin. The little confidence I had disappeared when I felt that she now had both hands running smoothly in my hair. I felt like I was literally melting at her touch. She brought our faces a few centimeters closer, her lips parted, her eyes boring into me. Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed and she looked as though she had a million things to say to me, and then her bottom lip started to quiver, and her breaths went from being steady to slightly erratic. I stared at her in confusion and was prepared to say something until I heard a faint sound from her mouth.

"…I…they…" She quickly looked from me to the still hyper pups at my side, and then back to me. "What does this mean?" she whispered. Now I was really confused.

"What does what mean? What's wrong?" I asked as I reached up and cupped her face with both hands, forgetting that we were both still very much naked.

"They like you."

"I know. You told me they aren't normally like this with other people. I know."

"You do not understand. That means something. What I do not understand is…" But she stops mid-sentence. I pull her face forward and rest my forehead against hers.

"Tell me. What is it? What is it that neither of us can seem to grasp?" But she doesn't answer, she just looks at me like there's a sudden realization, and then…

"Jade! Jade, it's time to get up honey," my mother startles me awake. It seems that I startled her also because I jumped up so fast our heads nearly collided. "Whoa! Whoa…you just basically put a fresh nail in MY coffin," Mother said as she clutched her chest. It took about ten seconds for me to come back to reality. I had been dreaming, and it was about Tori. That was the wildest, calm dream I've ever had. Hell, maybe anyone could've had. I just described it as both wild and calm. What did all of that mean? Those pups were somehow really important to her, but why? I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and sat straight up, my mother's rambling on the other side of the room barely registering with me as I finally rose from the bed. I think she said something along the lines of "never done anything like that before" and "scared shitless", something like that.

I made myself presentable shortly afterwards and headed down to the kitchen where my aunt, uncle, and Mother were gathered. Aunt Josie had taken to the stove whipping up pancakes and bacon while my mother and uncle were making small chatter at the table. Once I entered my mother was just finishing her conversation and tilted her head over my way. "Well, simmered down now have we?" I sighed and barely uttered a "yeah" before I took a seat at the table.

"Uh oh, simmered down from what?" Uncle Phillip asked.

"Nothing really," I said.

"Ohhh on the contrary," Mother laughed. "She practically gave me a heart attack earlier. Went to wake her up and I get a glimpse of the devil himself instead. Mm, mm, mm…I tell you...scared me shitless." Well, I did hear that correctly then. "You've never done that before. Did you have a nightmare?" Far from that actually; the surroundings in the dream made it so serene, yet I couldn't make heads or tails of it. But I lied about it anyway.

"You could say that." Despite having just woke up, I still felt drowsy. The dream may not have been a nightmare but it's like I was going crazy trying to decipher it.

"Well you should feel a lot better after having my delicious pancakes, Jade. I know how much you love them," Aunt Josie boasts. We Wests are a prideful people.

"Oh I don't deny that," I reply. Once she sets plates and silverware in front of the table's occupants she goes to fetch her sons and my brother. My father had already passed her on his way to the kitchen and glanced at me suspiciously. He doesn't say anything but "Morning" to Uncle Phil and my mother's name as he leans in to kiss her cheek; she flinched, just a little bit, but it was enough for Father to notice as he paused and then finally pressed his lips to her skin. If he keeps it up he's going to lose everything in his life he holds dear…well, I'd say that's just my mother.

On cue, the other boys race to the kitchen and fix their plates as though they had never eaten a day in their lives. I'm used to this kind of behavior since I grew up around nothing but males, and I have eating habits like them myself; something Mother is determined to break for me.

Breakfast goes by in comfortable silence (for everyone else), I can almost feel the burning gaze Father aims at me every now and then. Wanting to just hurry and get the hell away from him, I finish eating and go to my room to pack the things I brought with me to the lake when I snuck out at night, trying to patiently wait for the right time to leave. It was easier said than done.

As I walk past my window I stop and do a double take because there is an angry looking dark pair of eyes peering into my room. Once they lock onto mine they go from angry to surprised, that's when I hear a muffled "Oh, sorry!" I stride over to the window and prop it open, seeing a redheaded teenage girl sheepishly looking down at the ground.

"Who the hell are you?! Are you some pervert, staring into my room like that? What's the matter with you?" I say, quite disturbed at the current situation. Her cheeks flush about as red as her hair, and she opens her mouth to form SOME coherent explanation as I glare at her, but maybe my gaze proves to be putting her under a lot of pressure. "Well? Say something or I'll beat it out of you." I could've laughed at how much her eyes widened in fear, making her look more like a caricature.

"I'm sorry, I-I wasn't trying to spy on you…I thought this was Danny's room. I've never actually been inside the house before so…" I arched an eyebrow and a twitch of a smile came across my face. 'This girl IS a pervert; she just got the wrong room. What if I had been changing my clothes? I'll remember to keep the curtains closed from now on.' I eyed the girl and realized she looked really young…too young, in fact, for my cousin Daniel. I had to know what her involvement with him was, 'cause an opportunity like this doesn't just always happen.

"Girl, how old are you?"

"Fifteen." 'Could've fooled me. I thought she was twelve.'

"You're old enough to know better than to be a 'Peeping Tom.' Now why would you want to be staring into his room anyway…or do I even need to really ask?" I tell her with amusement to my voice.

"Please don't say anything! I wasn't really trying to watch Danny do anything in that kind of way, it's just…I have a huge crush on him and I've asked him to do things with me, but always says he never has time. So I thought I'd go to his window and see just what always 'keeps him busy.'" I was holding back laughter again. This girl is almost as boy-crazy as Cat.

"Listen, I don't think Daniel wants to be rude, but I'm positive he's not interested." I said Daniel doesn't want to be rude, I didn't say I wasn't going to be rude and blunt about it. After the words have left my mouth the girl instantly appeared downtrodden.

"Oh…you really think he doesn't want to be bothered?" she asked softly.

"I'm sorry." I wasn't. With that she left, shoulders slumped and everything. I watched her head straight for her house mechanically; poor girl. As many times as I've been over here when I was younger I didn't recall seeing that girl. Weird. I have a feeling that she's still not going to let go of Daniel though. At least I found something funny today. Does that make me a bad person? Eh, like I care.

I had to share this information with my cousin, just to give him a heads up that he has a little stalker. I found him playing chess with William in the living room, winning like always does. "Hey, who's the redhead girl next door?" I asked as I stood next to them. Daniel visibly tensed and rolled his eyes while William guffawed. Not wanting to talk about her, Daniel continues with the game while William supplies her name, which is Delilah.

"What are we talking about her for?" William asked with a feeling about the answer anyway.

"Just thought I'd let 'Danny' know that she may very well try to sneak-a-peek at you in your window, because that's what she did to me just now, and she was wondering why she can never seem to get you alone basically. I think she's caught on to your excuses."

"She was looking at you through your window?" said Daniel in disbelief.

"Yeah, only because she was sure it was your bedroom." He groaned in annoyance at Delilah and mumbled a "whatever", going back to his game. William and I laughed and kept teasing him about it of course.

Finally, the time arrived for my rendezvous; I couldn't stop the grin on my face even if I wanted to. Everything I needed to do at the house was already finished, so I let my mother know I was going out.

I had MANY questions for Tori, and while thinking about them all Precious and I made it to the lake in a flash. I know if I just sat by the water she'd find me since she's done it mysteriously the last two times, but I couldn't do it in my excitement. I wandered around instead, grazing the tree bark lazily as I go, plucking a flower from the ground and becoming familiar with its scent, just bypassing time. It's then that I realize the setting was a lot like my dream, only there is no fog. And there is no nakedness…definitely not that, especially of my Indian Goddess. Wait, did I really go there? My Indian Goddess?

"Yá'át'ééh, Jade." There she is approaching me now, and fully clothed. Pushing those thoughts aside I smile and say hi to her.

"Ha. Glad you didn't sneak up on me this time. So, is that what that means? That greeting of yours…you're saying 'hi' or something?"

"Oh, yes. It means hello. I remember your confusion when I first used the word," she chuckled. She then notices the sack I have in my hand and asks, "What have you there?"

"Just a drawing pad and charcoal." Her face lights up I guess once she hears "drawing" and clasps her hands together.

"May I see what your drawing pad contains? Please?" That smile she has is so infectious, there's no way I can deny her anything. But I am a bit hesitant, because there are a lot of pictures I drew of her in it, I don't want her to think I'm weird or whatever.

"Um, sure. Let's sit down somewhere."

"I know, let us go to my favorite spot. It is near a great big tree. This way," she gestures for me to follow her. Is it strange that I feel like this woman could do no harm or tell no lies? I'm oddly so at ease around her, I'm certain no one else would have stuck around after seeing her even for the first time. Anything "Indian" to everyone else is like taboo or something. But I follow her until we reach a giant tree, just like she said. It's so big, in fact, that there's a hollow under it; a few people could sit there crouched in it if they wanted to.

"Wow. I haven't gone much further from the lake before. But I can see why this is your favorite spot, it looks like an interesting place to sit in peace…or hide."

"I do exactly that whenever I feel like having time to myself. Shizhe'é does not like it when I run off, but I cannot stay hidden from the world."

"Who is that?" I mumble. I like the language she is speaking but I feel silly whenever I try to pronounce any of it, simply because I can't.

"My father." She enters the inside of the tree first, taking a seat and leaning back against the bark, and I do the same. It smells pleasant in here; the only word that comes to mind with this scent is "earth". Remembering that she wanted to see my drawings, I hand the pad over to her and she eagerly flips through the pages. She doesn't say anything until she gets to the fourth page. "These are all of me?" she asks, momentarily glancing at my eyes. But she's not asking like she finds it weird, she sounds amused actually; flattered even. I blush and nod my head. "They are very good. I have never seen my face across paper before, I love it." I'm relieved that she does.

"So, Tori…" still excited that she lets me call her that. "I have a lot of burning questions for you." I search my mind frantically, not knowing which one I want to start with first. "Well this one isn't as important but I wanted to know how old you are?" She looks up from the pad and replies, "Hastą́'áadah," and smirks.

"You love teasing me, don't you?" We both laugh until she repeats her answer, only in English this time.

"I am sixteen years of age."

"So am I. Okay next question—are you an only child?" I decided to start off with typical questions and ask the heavy-hitters later.

"No. I have an older sister. Now, I have a question for you also. Why have I not seen you here before? Where did you come from?" She finishes going through my miniature "collection" of her pictures and returns the pad.

"I'm from a neighboring town called Prescott. I'm here because I'm visiting my aunt, uncle, and cousins with the rest of my family. Now, we're actually a lot closer to Prescott than Chino Valley, where my aunt lives. Do you live around here? 'Cause if you do you're a lot closer to me than you think."

"Well, where I live my people are hidden. There is a good number of us that strayed away from the reservation from years ago. But the distance from here is not too bad, I take my horse and wander around." When she said "hidden" I guess it was to steer clear of white people. I totally get it.

You know, now that we're in less light her eyes really do appear to be glowing. I'm tempted to ask her if she really is an extraterrestrial that was maybe adopted by the Navajo tribe. But that's SO fartfetched! But the glow of her eyes are, too!

"I have a confession, Jade." Uh oh. She can read my mind! She IS an extraterrestrial! "I saw you out near the lake that night; when you thought I was an animal in the bushes..." My astonomical heart rate suddenly slowed as I remembered what she was talking about.

"That was you? Watching me?"

"Yes," she admitted embarassingly. "I wanted to say something to you, but I feared I may scare you off. My eyes at night are noticeable. It can be frightening if you do not know what it is. So as you drew closer I ran away."

"That makes sense now. My horse was doing everything she could to get to those bushes." I sighed in relief; I just knew she was going to say what I originally was thinking...although, she hasn't exactly said that yet anyway. "Wait, your eyes...you never told me why they are the way they are." She stops for a second, unsure how to tell me this information, I can see it all in her face.

"...It is because of how I was born. I do hope that you will believe me." I place a hand on top of hers reassuringly. "Tori, if I can believe that your eyes are like this in the first place then I can believe the reason behind it, too," I smile at her. She takes a breath and then begins. "In Indian culture, ANY tribe can have a special female born, but there is only ONE every 100 years. My tribe—the Navajo people—were proud and honored to have the Spirit of the White Wolf born to them." Tori took another pause, waiting for me to say something, but I nodded and let her continue.

"It is like I am an unofficial 'princess.' What the Spirit of the White Wolf represents is Wisdom, Patience, Teaching, and Guidance. Whomever she is, she is highly valued to Indians. The Spirit of the White Wolf has blue eyes and white hair," she says, pointing at her person. "I am slowly growing my white hair as you can see." And it's gorgeous. I run my fingers through it again and tell her just that.

"That's amazing...spectacular. I've no real words to describe what you just told me, but you truly are amazing," I say almost breathlessly.

"Thank you. But that is the reason why I am hidden. I was not supposed to be seen by anyone who is not Indian, but when I first saw you I could not help myself. You appeared harmless; when I look at you something tells me that everything will be fine." At this point we're both staring into each other's eyes. "Your eyes are quite beautiful as well." I didn't think so, though; it's funny how we each find the "window to each other's souls" so captivating.

"I'm sorry. You've been hidden from the rest of the world up until now? I'd hope that you won't get caught, I'd hate for something bad to happen to you." My voice never has had this much concern for anyone, but I meant it; I don't want any harm to come to her. Our hands were still connected, but neither of us were pulling away.

"I feel as though I know you," Tori said, suddenly.

"Like we were supposed to find each other at the lake?" I say more as a statement than a question. "Fate is interesting like that."

"You believe it is fate?"

"...Yeah, I do." We're silent and just enjoying one another's company for about two minutes until she says something again.

"Are you familiar with the Chinese?" My eyebrows knit together at the random question because one: I thought she was hidden from the world so I didn't expect her to know anything about the Chinese, and two: I wouldn't know too much about them. But I giggle afterwards.

"Uh well, I know very little about them. Why do you ask?"

"I remember when we met, you said you knew of a Navajo from your town. Well I know whom you speak of, because he is a cousin of mine. He works very closely with the Chinese and has told us interesting things about them."

"That guy is your cousin? Oh..."

"Yes. From time to time he will visit us."

"What stories does he tell you about them?"

"We all may be different peoples with different backgrounds, but we can find common ground between our cultures. In Chinese culture, it is said they believe in a representation of two opposite principles in nature—they are Yin and Yang. Yin is feminine and is everything negative in nature, while Yang is masculine and is everything positive. They rely on each other, and cannot exist without the other. There is much more to the concept of Yin and Yang, but my point being is you can find it in everything.

"In Indian culture, there is the Spirit of the White Wolf and the Great Black Wolf. We are like the same thing, the only difference being I am the feminine one, but I am the White Wolf; the Great Black Wolf is, of course, masculine. We balance each other and possess these great qualities. My cousin learns so many things from them; they are truly fascinating."

"Whoa," I breathe. "I don't know if I can wrap my head around all of that at the moment but it sounds intriguing." It really does pique my interest since I love nature. I'm new to everything she's telling me, so it'd take a while before I can fully understand it, but I get the gist of it. "I didn't know that about them; I'd love to go around town, the world, and learn new things, but my father wouldn't have it. In fact, no one white really would...unless you're Beck and his family," I mutter the last part. "There's a Chinese laundry service in my town, is that how your cousin got to know them?"

"No. He says he works on this 'railroad.' There are a few Chinese men that work on it with him as well...tell me, Jade, I would like to know more about you. You said you came to visit your aunt, uncle, and cousins. Who are they and the rest of the family you traveled with?"

We sit and talk for what seems like hours. I tell her all about my family and my friends. When I talk about Cat and her antics Tori laughs and agrees that she wishes to meet her, too. We both grow even more comfortable by touching, joking, and leaning against one another, almost as if we really have known the other for a long time. But once the sun starts to set I realize it's time for me to go.

"I wish we did not have to part," Tori announces with a frown, climbing out of the tree.

"I know. I miss you already and I haven't left yet. Same time tomorrow, though?" She brightens up after I ask and says yes. "Don't get in trouble with your family now."

"I will try not to. And the same goes for you." We smile and then lean in for a tight hug. I can smell the fruity scent of her hair, and she's incredibly warm. God I wish I could stay. When we let go finally and I head in the direction where Precious was left, she calls back out to me. "Jade. I have something to show you tomorrow. I can only hope you will find it alright." Well that certainly caught my attention.

"Whatever you have to throw my way, I can take it," I respond. She only looks at me confusedly and I chuckle at her bewilderment. "I meant, whatever it is you have to show me, can't be too bad. You're not scaring me away, Tori," I grin at her. We wave goodbye and both disappear.

I make it back to the house without any complaints from the good people, however, Father scorns me as soon as he sees me.

"Where the hell were you?" I don't even flinch at his hostility, because my attitude can be just as nasty as his.

"Out. I like to explore nature. I can't be cooped up in houses all the time."

"Yeah well, you've never been THIS much into nature. This is completely unlike when we're at home; it's almost as if you're sneaking out to do things you shouldn't be doing. Is that it? Are you doing things behind our backs you good-for-nothing—"

"JAMES!" He spins around to see my mother fuming. She's got a needle in her hand, probably repairing another tear in Jonathan's clothing; my father better watch out, she just may stab him somewhere one shouldn't be stabbed. "Jade, go to your room," she demands, not once taking her burning gaze off of my father. I do as she commands and leave, not wanting to be bothered with him anyway. "What the hell. Is wrong. With you?!"

"She is up to something and I know it!" He stomps a foot down angrily as he growls. His fists are balled up and his face is turning blood red by the second. Rebecca holds her ground, though.

"That girl is not bothering YOU. She is not bothering ANYBODY. Why does it matter what she's doing if it doesn't get in someone else's way?!"

"She is doing something that will EVENTUALLY get in MY way. I have this feeling that she's heading down a path one shouldn't go, Rebecca!" By now, she's so tired of having conversations with him about Jade that doesn't make sense.

"Keep it up, James. Come on. I WANT you to keep it up. Bad things will certainly go your way if you keep. This. Up. Thing is you don't listen. Lot's wife didn't listen, and look what happened to her. Are you Lot's wife now, James?" Rebecca taunted. He just scoffed at her comparison.

"That has nothing to do with this! And don't you dare compare me to that foolish woman; don't even throw Bible stories my way."

"Whatever. I'm beyond tired of this. If you don't stop harassing Jade then you will be in for a world of hurt and pain and misery. Do you understand me?" She's never had to talk to him like this before, she's never even been this angry with him either. He doesn't say anything, just walks off towards the bedroom.

'That man's gonna find himself in a grave if he continues on like this,' she thought.

Tuesday, April 23, 1886

Dear Diary,

I finally got more answers from Tori earlier today; even ones I didn't expect. I loved learning about everything she had to say. What I found most interesting was that she is the Spirit of the White Wolf, that explains why her eyes are that beautiful shade of blue all around.

We spoke for hours, just getting to know each other better. I'm glad that she's as comfortable around me as I am around her. When I told her about my friends she got excited at the very idea of them. She longs to meet other people; she craves it, because she told me that she's been hidden this whole time and that breaks my heart. The world has so much to offer. True I haven't been to many places outside of Prescott, but I've heard about so many places that I just have to visit them.

Tori mentioned that she has something to show me tomorrow. I'm nervous yet ecstatic. I can't begin to imagine what it could be. When it comes to Tori there is nothing predictable or normal, and I love that about her.

And I've come to realize that this is what I myself have been craving all along—something new, different, and exciting.

A/N: This is going to be a long author's note. Heads up.

Alright, first I'd like to say that I put a little of myself into both Jade and Tori's characters. I love languages and I'd love to learn as many as I can. Their desire to learn any and everything is what drives them to do the things they do in this story, and that's how I am. I only WISH I was a walking database for languages and cultures -_- I want to learn Navajo and am picking up what I can for this fic and my own personal use, but it's not easy. Navajo is a tonal language and if you don't hit the right tones your words are all over the place and everybody gets confused.

Second: Since I am into learning about different cultures I had to put the Yin and Yang reference in there; I wanted to create some similarity with the two. And in a way a lot of cultures have similar beliefs and do find that common ground I spoke of earlier. If you were to look up the White Wolf and the Black Wolf legend, it's actually an old Cherokee story where the White Wolf represents the good in you and the Black Wolf represents the bad—the wolf that you "feed" is the one that wins within you. It's a good story, I just used it differently for this story.

Third: I think it's obvious I made up the story about a Spirit of the White Wolf being born every 100 years into a different Indian tribe. Same with the Great Black Wolf.

Fourth: Pronunications and translations! We already know the Navajo word for hello, new words are here.

1: Shizhe'é – it literally translates to "my father". It's pronounced as "shih-zheh-eh". The "shi" part sounds like you're about to say "shit" lol, prepare to say "shit" just without the "t" in it lol. There's the "zh" part again. It's like last time, only there's an "e" instead of "o". The "e" sounds like the "e" in the word "fetch", so put that sound with the "zh". The "é" is a rising tone, or called a short high tone. With rising tones it almost sounds like you're asking a question. Seriously. So, this "é" sounds like the previous "e" only it's a rising sound. Don't drawl the sound. Put it together and it sounds like "shih-zhe-eh?"

2: Hastą́'áadah – is the number 16. It's pronounced like how you see it actually, but you have to get the tones with the vowels with marks above them. The "ą́" is a short, high nasal sound. The "á" is another short high tone; it's like saying "ah" only it's not drawled, remember it's short.

Here's a tip though, whenever you see this symbol ' after a letter that means it's a glottal stop. Whenever you see an accent mark above a vowel that means it's a high tone. I'm sorry if this confuses you guys but I tried to break all the right sounds down for you. If you still find yourself confused (as I'm sure you will) there's a WAYYY better teacher than I am on a very good Navajo website. Just go to gomyson . com and go under the "Language" tab and the "School" tab and you'll find the tones and words I've been using.

Don't forget to REVIEW loves!