Kestrel stood before Hugh, her expression one of pure shock. She was caught off guard, something that she was both unused too the sensation, and angry about it. She was angry that he thought she was capable of such love, and angry that he was right at the same time. Kestrel was still having a hard time believing in him being her soulmate. Sure she got butterflies at the mention of his name, and even now her stomach felt like it was about to soar out of her body despite how angry she was with Hugh. "Get out of my way." Kestrel said finally before pushing past Hugh to get out of her own room as she rushed down the hall way and towards the stairs.

"Kestrel, come on…" Hugh tried as she was pushing past him before he turned on his heel and began to follow her. "Kestrel? Where are you going?" He attempted to ask without having to shout for her to hear him. Hugh tried his best not to yell. Or even holler. He found that raising his voice in most situations only made them worse and all the more upsetting. Even without shouting though, Hugh found himself wasting his breath. He wound up following Kestrel out to the porch before stopping and watching while she broke out into a run to the tree lines. Hugh pursed his lips as he watched the golden hair that shined so bright in the sun disappear into the darkness of the trees. Even still he stood there, hoping That Kestrel would turn around and come running back into his arms. He doubted something like that would happen though. Kestrel seemed to be a woman of pride. She'd never just give in. And that might have been one of the most attractive things about her to Hugh.

"Don't worry too much. She does this sometimes…I'll be it, never so dramatically."Came a calm voice from behind Hugh. He didn't have to turn to guess that it was Rowan, though he still turned to her out of respect. "Where is she going?" Hugh asked, a crease sinking into his forehead as he frowned. "Around here it's called 'Mad Dog Creek' because there were rumors of a vicious dog living in the woods by it…but it turned out to be a werewolf. Mary-Lynette killed him when he tried to kill Ash though. No one goes in there still though. For most people it's because they're still scared, but me, Jade, Mark, even Mare just have kinda bad memories of the whole ordeal, so we tend to stay out of those parts. Kestrel doesn't care much for it though. I can't really blame her either, it's beautiful once you get past all the violence. Anyway, if you just follow the path into the woods that's up the road, you'll get to this nice little creek. Kestrel likes to go there when she's mad. Blow off some steam." Rowan replied as she sat down on the bench beside the front door, patting the seat beside her for Hugh.

Hugh limped the few steps towards the bench before sitting beside Rowan with a sigh. "What does she do there?" He asked, looking back to the woods. He didn't blame Kestrel for running into them. Most people didn't like running into the woods. Some parts could get dark, and there always seemed to be different dangers in them. But they could also be appealing. Once you could get past the possible dangers of wild animals, or murderers on the run or something, the woods meant solitude. As well as beauty around every corner. He could see why Kestrel would run right too them, seeking for some kind of peace. "I'm not sure, she never talks about it. She'll get mad at me, or Jade, or something else, walk out, slam the door and leave. She'll come back hours later as if nothing happened. I've tried talking to her before, but she just never responds. She won't even open up to me." Rowan said, glancing down at her hands as a sad look passed over her soft features. She knew why Kestrel had shut her out. She knew why Kestrel had shut everyone out. Still it hurt Rowan knowing that Kestrel felt the need to keep everything bottled up, despite how much Rowan had tried and tried to make sure Kestrel and Jade were well cared for, and safe. "I had thought though that in light of things…you maybe, just might be able to get her to open up a little. To you at least….everyone needs someone to talk too." Rowan stated finally before standing up. "Mare said that she'll be cooking tonight. We know you must be starving and we don't want to subject you to another meal…I mean like the one that was prepared last time." Rowan stated after clearing her throat, trying to hint that she knew just how bad a cook that Jade was, without actually admitting it. Just in case Jade happened to be listening. Rowan opened the door to the farmhouse once more and disappeared inside, though before the door had even shut, it was being opened again.

"RELAX! I SAID I CAN DO IT!" Ash now shouted into the house before dramatically slamming the door. "Women." Ash stated, looking at Hugh and shaking his head. "Can't live with them and…well…I guess YOU REALLY JUST CAN'T LIVE WITH THEM!" He shouted again, obviously hoping for someone to hear. Even in his unhappy mood, Hugh couldn't help but chuckle. He'd always found Ash to be fairly amusing. In fact, upon meeting Ash, while many regarded him with pure annoyance, Hugh had found a good friend in the Redfern boy. It was true that Ash had done some less than holy things in his life. And many despised him for that. But the way Hugh saw it, is that vampires got one life. True, it could be eternal if they were careful. But many people even like Hugh could live over and over again, and still be cruel and evil. Many could live hundreds of years like Hunter and still be cruel. Ash was young. And changed for the better already. And so to Hugh, it was time to forgive him. He'd made mistakes, but Ash had gone above and beyond in trying to right them. He'd become one of the lead missionaries of circle day break, one day he'd be at the mansion for just a night before disappearing to yet another one the next morning. And aside from that, Hugh just liked him. While Hugh tended to be calm, and not take many risks or draw attention to himself, Ash was the complete opposite. Thinking even more on it, Ash was quite a bit like Kestrel, only Kestrel was quieter than Ash. They were both wild, but they were also both good in the core.

Finally Ash walked around to stand in front of Hugh. "You sir, have screwed up." Ash stated before leaning on the rail of the porch. "But fear, I am here to help. Now I want to make it clear, that it's not for you. The idea of you nailing my sister kinda pisses me off honestly. That being said, despite what she thinks, I care about Kestrel. I care about all of my sisters. I haven't shown it very well in the past, and now is the perfect time to fix it. I can get her and you together! As her Soulmate, you can make her happy, so if I bring you to light to her, then come a year or two, she'll look back and realize that I helped. Then she'll forgive me and we'll be even. Got it?" Ash asked without really asking.

Ash didn't even wait for a reply for Hugh before he began towards the woods. "MARK MY WORDS! YOU'LL HAVE HER SWOONING BY THE WEEK'S END!" Ash called over his shoulder, cocky as ever.

It didn't take Ash long to find Kestrel, but it was still longer than he would have liked. "There you are." Ash said as he emerged from the woods and into the fairly small clearing by the creek. He hadn't heard any noises on his journey. Or at least, nothing out of the ordinary. Ash found this odd, as he had fully expected to hear the grunts of his sister as she destroyed things. Something Ash had assumed Kestrel to be doing alone in the woods when angry. Instead, he found his sister sitting by the creek, not moving, her back to him with her feet dipped in the water as she stared blankly into it. She didn't turn to look at him even upon hearing him speak to her. "What do you want?" Kestrel asked bitterly. Her irritation obvious, though over what was unclear. At the moment, it was mostly over being followed to her sacred space. "You had everyone worried running off like that…poor Hugh has been sitting by himself on the porch since you left." Ash said as he neared his sister, though he didn't think it a good idea to get too close. Ash didn't doubt that he could take Kestrel, however that didn't mean he wanted to be picking fights with her. Not when he was trying so hard to prove to everyone that he was a changed man. Kestrel didn't answer, causing Ash to give a loud sigh. Why did she have to be difficult? No. Ash wouldn't think that. He understood why. He didn't want anything to do with Mary-Lynette when he first met her. He had thought it to be the end of his world, and now Kestrel must be thinking the same thing. It's hard to trust that someone could love you unconditionally when you've known nothing but hurt. How Jade had let everything go on a whim was a mystery to Ash, how Rowan didn't let it get to her bewildered him all the more. But Ash had always understood Kestrel. As much as he hated to admit it, they were a lot alike. Unfortunately however, with the good, came the bad. "You can't run from it." Ash said quietly before sitting beside Kestrel. "I tried. And now, well, I spend every waking moment trying to be better. And that's my own fault. I did so much bad, I have to make up for…" Ash trailed off, as he looked into the water, deep in thought. "You though Kes, you're not like me. I know what everyone says, me and you are so alike, and blah blah blah. I guess we kind of are? Except as mean as everyone says you are…you're not. I know it's hard being the one who has to try to take care of everyone. That's why I left, and became bad. I gave up. That's why I'm paying the price. You though? You never gave up. I'm happy to live a life of no rest for Mare if that means she'll love me. But you won't even have to do that. You know, Hugh was the first one to forgive me for everything I've done? Even Thierry didn't want me in his organization. "Ash added on. He knew his sister well enough to know that Kestrel was perfectly happy to pretend that he wasn't there. But he knew she could hear him. At the least she would sit and think about what he had to say. "You haven't done the things I've done. You won't have to jump through hoops. You're not bad, Kestrel. Hugh is ready to love you, but he can't do that if you don't let him try." Ash added before standing up. "I'll go back now. If you want Hugh to leave, I'll figure something else out. But now that you've met, you won't get away from him. Even if he's not with you, you're going to think about him. Probably even more so if you try to fight it." This was what Ash left Kestrel with to think about. He knew she must hate it as much as he had. But at the same time, it was for the best. Ash knew that if Kestrel could just let Hugh in, then for certain she could begin being the old Kestrel. The one Ash knew as a child, the one even Jade couldn't remember. Kestrel had always been a bit rough around the edges, but Ash remembered the days when she could love openly, and protect what she loved without being harsh to what she loved either. He wanted that back for her. He wanted her to know happiness again.

(A/N: I'm sorry for the years of delay…life got me you know? I am also sorry if this chapter seemed kinda slow/dull, I'm just now trying to get back into writing, and really wanted to continue on with this, so please stick around and bear with it, there might just be a surprise or two ahead 😉 )