a/n- So, As I am typing this, I am sitting beside a beach in cape cod, stealing internet from one of the shore house owners. New England is cold. And whoever lives in complex B2... I'm sorry for stealing from you. Well, maybe not. Reviews make me happier than doped up Labrador Retriever!

Starsong

Chapter 4

I awoke the next morning, knowing I had a full day ahead of me. The sun shone brightly, beckoning me to get up and greet my day. I followed her orders, dressing in jeans and my favorite purple sweater, loving the look of the deep plum cotton against my skin. My moon pendant still holding its position on my neck, I walked the mile to the conservation headquarters. I didn't want to wake Nory and knew she would figure out what was going on when she saw the house with me obviously absent. Fred the cat was fed, already making perch over his domain. I laughed lightly to myself as I approached the small building with clapboard siding. I was at peace so far away from most civilization.

I walked into the building, looking around for Nicola or anyone that could point me in the right direction. I found my salvation in the form of a shy looking man with light brown hair. His baby blue eyes hid themselves behind silver rimmed glasses, and his gaze rarely left the floor. He was attractive in the shy and sensitive way, which immediately made him not my type. I smiled at him and he waved in reply, closing the gap between us.

"Hi there… I'm Bobby Collins, but you can just call me Bobby." He smiled sheepishly, and I suddenly felt the urge to hug him and tell him that everything will be okay, "So, since you're new, we're going to have you rotate between departments until we find a fit. Today you're helping with birds with Nicola." He blushed unconsciously as he said Nicola's name, and I had to stop myself from giggling. He walked me towards the room, first fitting me with protective gloves and a hair wrap since my hair was too short to tie up in a ponytail.

We walked into the room where I saw Nicola standing, a bald eagle perched on her forearm. The girl looked completely at ease, and I had to give her props. Bobby gave her an awkward wave and she smiled back at him. I could feel the tension between them and it was making me uncomfortable. Shaking my head, I took a step forward.

"I hear you're testing me out with winged creatures." I said, slowly reaching out my hand towards the bald eagle.

Nicola nodded, "Yep. If you lose any fingers we aren't held responsible." I wasn't sure if she was serious or not, so I decided to play it safe and let out a small chuckle.

"Who needs all ten fingers anyway? Besides, it'd be a hell of a story to tell at dinner parties." She laughed in a 'That's the Spirit' kind of tone and we began to work.

Maryland wasn't exactly the hub of large bird activity, so I knew I'd be winging it, for lack of better term, until I found my way. I surprised myself and apparently Nicola when the birds took to me so well. We spent the first few hours cleaning, grooming, feeding, and beginning some rehabilitation. Nicola was showing me the basics of wing reconstruction exercises when Bobby walked in, at first looking very determined. He marched right up to us.

"Nicola." He said, looking my new friend right in the eye. I guess that look made him uneasy because he immediately began to falter, "I… I want to… you… to let you know… umm… the penguins need looking after." He finished pitifully, looking at the ground again before turning and briskly walking out of the room.

I looked at Pearl, the eagle I was holding, and she returned my gaze. We stared at each other and it was almost a though we shared the same thought of, "Damn, that boy needs help.' I broke my gaze at hearing Nicola sigh. She returned back to lightly combing her fingers through Lily's feathers.

I decided to broach the topic carefully, "Is that… a frequent occurrence?" She nodded, sighing wistfully.

"Every time, I think he's going to ask me out, but I guess he just doesn't feel the same." My jaw went slack at the audacity of her statement.

"You… you mean to tell me you don't think he's interested?" Nicola looked at me as though the answer were obvious.

"Well, we've worked together for months and nothing, so it's pretty clear he just thinks of me as a friend... or just as a coworker. I mean, if he did think… more… why hasn't he said anything?"

"Because the boy is more awkward than an eight year old boy at Michael Jackson's house!" I exclaimed, and I swear I heard Pearl laugh. "Bobby looks like the sweetest boy in the world, but I only met him today and I could tell you he's afraid of his own shadow. I can also tell that every time he thinks about you he blushes and imagines you two together with five kids living in Connecticut." I knew at that time I was exaggerating, but my point remained valid. I took a breath before continuing, "I think in this case you might have to be a bit more forward. We live in modern times; it's not against the law for a girl to ask a boy out."

Nicola thought about what I said for a few moments, a giddy smile on her face before shaking her head, focusing again, "It's probably nothing like that. Come on, let's get these girls some exercise before I show you the penguins and hawks." I nodded, letting the topic slide for now.

Before I knew it, it was six o'clock and time to go back to the cabin. I was feeling exhausted yet at the same time energized. For once I was actually doing something with my time. I said goodbye to everyone and began my walk down to the cabin.

The night was clear, so I could look up and see my beautiful stars. The moon was full, her powerful beams making the moonstone in my pendant glow. It was comforting, yet oddly empowering. I glowed in a way no one else did at that time. Just me, the moon, the stars, and my beautiful pendant.

When I looked back up from my glowing pendant a different scene was in front of me. The moonbeams reflected off of the trees and grass in a way that I was almost blinded by the sparkling. A warmth surrounded me, but I knew it wasn't the weather. This warmth was thicker, crackling with energy. It was as though someone bottled electricity along with every happy memory one could possess and surrounded my body with it. I wanted to mold the warmth, make it my own… and I knew I could. My pendant glowed again as I felt an energy come from within.

I heard a snap behind me and gasped, turning around to see if I was being followed. I almost laughed in relief when I saw that it was only a rabbit. My daydreams were becoming more and more frequent. I knew I had to find a way to hold them back or else people might begin to think I was having absent seizures or something.

I let my worry fall to the back of my mind when I approached the cabin, a beautiful smell floating up my nose. Mexican. Obviously, Nory had gone shopping and was working her magic on tonight's meal. To this day I had no idea why Nory hadn't gone to culinary school and become a world famous chef with her cooking skills. She could walk into a kitchen with only the most minimal of ingredients and MacGyver out a five star meal. At least she was in school for Nutrition, saying she wanted to use her knowledge of food for good and not evil. I made sure she baked something unhealthy at least once a month, though.

Walking through the front door only made the smell more potent, and I hoped my mouth didn't begin to water. "Honey, I'm home!" I called out, and I saw a waving spatula from the doorway into the kitchen. That was Nory's symbol of 'I see you and hi, but I'm busy so leave me alone until I feed you.' I was okay with this symbol and decided to walk outside to the water again.

I grabbed my blanket, the night becoming very cool, and walked to the driftwood log by the water. I looked to the sky again, almost willing another daydream. Maybe with more daydreams I would figure out what they all meant. The stars hummed a small tune and I smiled, swaying along. My swaying immediately halted when I heard movement behind me. I slowly turned around, ready to face whatever it was approaching me. "Fred?" I called out, "Nory… are you feeding me now?" I heard a low chuckle, and I knew neither my cat nor my very female best friend could laugh that low.

A form walked out from the trees, and I froze. He was tall… massive really. It looked like he could crush my skull with his biceps. He approached me more and I saw more details to him. He was definitely Native American and his hair hung a little longer than mine, jet black and a bit matted. He has a wolfish grin on his… pretty attractive face and stood before me wearing only cutoff jeans. "Hey." He said to me, the grin never leaving his face. His voice was low and soothing, yet I was still on edge.

I tried to respond, "I… err…"

You could put me in front of a raging bull and I could calm him down, throw me in a room with a crazy eagle and I could make her trust me, yet if you put me in front of an attractive and shirtless stranger, I suddenly become Helen Keller. I coughed, finding my voice.

"You're going to die of hypothermia." I said, staring at the minimal clothing he was wearing. I was completely wrapped in my blanket and was already pondering going back to the cabin for a hoodie as well. He tilted his head back and howled in laughter.

"That's the first greeting of that kind I ever got." He shook his head, stray pieces of his hair falling in his face, "And I have an abnormally high body temperature. I think I'll be okay."

I nodded, "Lucky bastard." The moment was awkward, so a moved over on the log, making space for him to sit, "You look like you haven't seen the inside of a house in months." I commented on his haggard appearance, but his charm shone through.

He sat down next to me, "That… is actually pretty accurate." He responded. The guy gave me an odd look and I suddenly felt very exposed. I looked up to the sky to distract me and I felt his eyes leave me and follow my gaze to the sky. "Stargazer?" He asked, curious.

I shrugged, unsure of what to call myself, "Honestly, at times I think that they watch me more than I watch them. It's an odd relationship." I didn't even know the person sitting next to me, so getting into my beliefs about the world wasn't high on my list of conversation topics.

Thankfully, he let the subject drop. We sat in silence for a few minutes, and for some reason the silence was comfortable. It was broken when his gaze drifted back to her, "You don't look like you're from around here."

"I'm from around here now. And I could say the same for you."

"I'm from around here now as well… where are you from originally?"

"Originally originally? Dundalk Ireland… most of my life was spent just outside of Baltimore." He nodded, a little surprised.

"A long way to travel for such a little girl."

"I'm not little, I'm tiny." I rebutted, by tiny size always a touchy subject, "And maybe it's just in comparison to you, Goliath."

"Touché. What called for the move?"

"We playing twenty questions?"

"Yep." I shook my head, his charm undeniable albeit a little annoying.

"Change of scenery. Here just seemed to call to me. I have a job working with the conservation society."

"Job… right… need to get me one of those…"

"Are you good with exotic animals?" For some reason my question warranted a smirk from him.

"Wolves, actually. I'm very experienced with wolves." I looked at him skeptically.

"Really?" He nodded.

"My tribe back home in Washington had a lot of encounters with wolves."

"I… could talk to my work. I'm sure they could use you. I mean, we're kind of understaffed."

"Define understaffed."

"Six people for over a thousand acres of land."

"You're understaffed." I nodded, letting myself laugh a bit.

"How about a home? You have one of them yet?" I asked, he shook his head.

"Nope… I'm just a poor wandering puppy dog." He gave me a puppy-eyed look, warranting a laugh and an eye-roll.

"I hope this isn't a way to get into my pants."

"If I wanted in your pants, I'd be there already." I gave him an appraising look.

"You're that good?"

"Oh yeah." He grinned with bravado. I laughed in response.

"You're full of shit."

"Okay… yeah." I shook my head, knowing I was being far too hospitable.

"Look, I know this may sound weird, and maybe Irish hospitality I just too far ingrained in my genes, but I have a couch you could crash on until you get on your feet. I have to see if it's okay with my roommate and my cat, but I don't see why not… as long as you keep your pants to yourself." I pointed at him to make my point.

He responded with an innocent face and a palms forward gesture of surrender. "I'll be on my bet behavior, promise. Thanks so much…?" The gratitude hung in the air when we realized we didn't even know each other's names.

"Bree. Bree McCallahan." I said, giving him an expectant look, "I hope you're returning the courtesy. I'm giving you shelter and the chance to eat Nory's cuisine. And tonight is Mexican night."

His eyes brightened, "Mexican? I think I could eat my weight in nachos." Looking at the size of him, no doubt all muscle, I didn't really doubt his statement. I looked up at him again, the moon making my pendant sparkle and it's glimmer making my eyes sparkle in anticipation. I found a friend…no, not a friend. This was a connection I never had before. Not love… something else. Great, now I was confusing myself. Focus, Bree, think of nachos and this guy's name. His name!

"So, am I just calling you Mr. Cut-off jeans?" I asked impatiently. He laughed in response.

"As flattering as that name would be, no." He held out one of his huge, paw-like hands and shook mine, miniscule in comparison, "And I'm Jacob. Jacob Black."