Darkside of the Moon

by Lashana Inferno

Six vigilante women seek to bring a murderer to justice. When their ties to the hidden world of the supernatural deepen, they're saved from certain death by four heroesingreen. With the turtles as allies, will the group suceed, or is Fate against them?

7. Reconnaissance

No ownage of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles happening here.

Chapter 7 - Reconnaissance

"Oof, I think I gained five pounds...."

Talia snickered at her sister's soft groan and continued trudging through the sewers, following Leo and Donnie as they lead them through the underground maze. "It's your own fault for having that fifth pancake."

"Shaddup. Besides, you shouldn't talk, you had six."

"So?"

"Ugh, bottomless pit. And you're thin as a stick, where the hell do you put it all?!"

Aiden chuckled and shook her head as she listened in on the sisters conversation, taking a brief moment to glance at her watch as she did so. After the hearty, and extremely delicious, breakfast that Mikey had made, the now large group had figured out a rough plan for the next night's patrols, since it was agreed that they would be working together to stop the killings, even despite her misgivings of the idea.

The girls had made it quite clear that they weren't going to track down evil in clothes that were not only unsuitable for the task, but ones that they had been wearing for far too long. Granted, Esper hadn't minded the whole clothing bit, but had been vetoed by the rest of the females in the group, much to the turtles amusement.

Thus it was decided that the turtles would lead them through the sewers back to Ace's apartment, both for the fact that they needed to know where the girls would be, and that while in the sewers, the girls had the navigational skills of a rock. And while the four brothers had been wary of going topside during the day, quick reassurance from Ace that her building was rather quiet during the day helped relieve some of their misgivings. Some, but not all.

Hence the disguises. Something that had drawn many a snicker from Talia, Ace and herself. Trenchcoats and fedoras adorned each turtle, and as she snuck a glance at Leo, she couldn't help but smirk in amusement. Humphrey Bogart eat your heart out.

A muffled sneeze drew her attention to Esper, who looked rather miserable at the moment. Apparently the smell of the sewer, while not that wonderful to them, was much, much worse for the Were's acute senses. Donatello had told them that he and his brothers possessed heightened senses as well, but that not only were they not up to par with Esper, but that they were used to the sewers. Esper, who had been living in the rainforest not three months ago, wasn't.

And she was suffering for it.

As another stream of Spanish echoed loudly in the tunnels, Talia turned and frowned at the Were. "Esper, would you please stop swearing? I'm the only one who can understand you, and I really don't want to hear this! It's a little too graphic! And disgusting!"

Raph perked up from where he and Mikey were following behind the group. "Really? What's she saying?"

"You don't want to know."

"Wanna bet?"

And thus, the complaints from the Were turned into incoherent growls and snarls, which only served to encourage Raphael into trying to copy her. By the time they reached the right manhole cover, the two of them had made a game of it, much to the groups dismay. Little did any of them realise that Esper was actually teaching Raph the verbal language of jaguars, a series of growls, snarls and hisses that only she could understand.

"I don't know what bothers me more," Leo commented to Aiden and Donnie as a rather bloodcurdling feline scream reverberated through the sewers, followed by a deeper almost perfect echo of it. "The fact that I don't know what she's teaching him, or the fact that he can actually copy her almost perfectly."

A'Janae grimaced and edged away from Esper, who grinned ferally in approval to Raph's mimicry of her. "Considering that she's speaking in the language of jaguars, I don't think any of us want to know what she's saying."

"Eh?" Esper glanced over at her warily. "You understood?"

"No. But I can recognise the sound of the language."

"Language?" Blinking, Raph turned to Esper, dimly aware that Mikey was trying to smother his laughter. "Hey, wait a second, what the hell was I sayin'?"

She chuckled. "I don't think I have a good enough grasp of the English language to translate it all. Suffice it to say that most of it was colourful, inventive and biologically impossible."

He paused for a second before smirking and tilting the tip of his fedora down. "Good 'nuff for me."

Rolling his eyes, Leo turned and led the way up the ladder, trusting his brothers to warn the girls to keep quiet as he listened for a moment before slowly lifting the edge of the manhole cover. A thorough inspection of the alleyway showed that it was safe, and he relayed that to the others before climbing the rest of the way out, taking it upon himself to keep a lookout while the others joined him topside.

"Someone remind me to burn these shoes," Ace groaned as she reached up to grasp Mikey's outstretched hand, letting him pull her the rest of the way out of the sewer.

"Oh, quit whining," Talia grumbled from where she was leaning back against one of the buildings, patiently waiting for the rest of the group. "Besides, they're salvageable."

Ace threw her a doubtful look, but didn't press the matter, turning instead to walk towards the mouth of the alley, where Leo and Donnie were warily studying the building across from them. "It's not that far. You'll be fine," she told them, playfully reaching out to tug the rim of Donnie's hat over his eyes.

"Ace, it's too open here." Frowning, Leo shot a glance up at the bright sun, then back to the street that separated them from Ace's building. "We can't risk being seen. If we are--"

"Argh. Fine. Yo, Kaia! C'mere!"

Taking a moment to brush dirt off her knees, Kaia slowly made her way over to the trio while Raph slid the manhole cover back into place. "Yes?"

"Make with the mojo, would you? Thick fog or something."

"What? Here?" Kaia glanced at the turtles and leaned closer to Ace and lowered her voice to the barest whisper. "I thought we weren't gonna reveal everything just yet."

"They know about magick, you don't have to bare all. Just a little."

Pulling away with a sigh and a nod, Kaia reluctantly stepped away from the main part of the group and closed her eyes, reaching out with her very essence to take control of the moisture in the air and clouds high above. It took very little effort to gather it to herself, and even less to force the invisible humidity to rapidly cool, forming a thick swirling fog that covered the entire block.

Readying herself for the worst, she opened her eyes again and looked over at the turtles, all of whom were staring at her in slack-jawed awe. "Um.... can we go now?"

"Don't see why not," Ace grinned, latching onto Leo and Donnie and practically dragging them across the street, the mist curling around them as they walked. "And you two were worried. Bah."

Still a little stunned, Mikey fell into step next to a grinning Talia and leaned towards her. "Uhhh, what was that?"

"Magick."

Raph smirked. "David Copperfield eat your heart out."

Talia rolled her eyes, but refrained from saying anything lest she drag herself into a whole conversation that she didn't really want to be a part of. Instead, she followed Esper through the greyness, trusting the Were's senses to lead her to the right building. A silent A'Janae walked a little ways behind her, and she felt a pang of guilt run through her as she glanced back at the woman. They had been practically ignoring her since the fight, and while it was her own fault, Talia didn't think she had to be cut off from all conversations for it. "Hey, don't fall behind. Can't see anything in this, wouldn't want to lose you."

"What are you talkin' to her for?" Raph growled, shooting a glare towards the other woman.

"Just because I don't agree with her opinions doesn't mean I have to be cruel," Talia shot back defensively, seeing Mike move so that he was between her and Raph. "Besides, all this tension is killing me. I hate it. And if Esper can promise to be civil and let things lie than so can the rest of us."

Frowning, Raph sped up a little and caught up to Esper, staring at her in disbelief. "You promised?"

She grimaced. "Only for Talia's sake, and for the sake of the group."

"Hmpft." A giggle from behind them drew his gaze, and he shook his head at the sight of Mikey wrapping his arm around Talia's shoulders, leaning closer to her as he told her another joke. It didn't surprise him though. Mike was always the one to break up tense situations with a joke or a crazy stunt. The day his brother didn't act so cheerful was the day he'd paint his sais neon pink.

Ace was waiting for them impatiently at the entrance to the building, and it wasn't until she was sure everyone was there that she turned and led the way into the lobby, hitting the button for the elevator despite Leo's protests that they should stick to the stairs to avoid being seen.

"We are not taking the stairs. I refuse to take the stairs. Especially not in these shoes!"

"Aw, but it's good for your calves," Mikey grinned, eliciting a snicker from Talia as a result.

Ace rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "I'm being punished, aren't I?"

"Probably," Raph smirked, simply staring at her when she turned to glare at him until she threw her hands up into the air and spun away from him.

"Um, Ace?" Hesitant to broach the subject, Aiden moved over to stand beside her and frowned. "We're not all going to fit in one elevator."

"Oh, yes, we will."

Donnie shivered at the tone of Ace's voice and pushed Leo in front of him as the steel coloured doors slid open to reveal a wood pattern that was most usually seen on the inside of a closet. "You first, Fearless Leader."

In the end, it was a terrible, terrible minute long elevator ride. The four guys had been shoved into the far corner so that in case the elevator stopped at another floor, no potential tenants of the building could properly make them out. The girls had, under Ace's glare, squeezed into any available spot, thus the vertical commuters got to experience what it was like to be a sardine in a can. Not that Talia and Mike cared, they were nose to nose and snickering all the while.

It was Aiden that cracked first when the doors finally opened, shoving people out of her way as she threw herself from the elevator, despite the many curses from those that she had unceremoniously pushed aside.

Raph was second. Growling all the while in a tone that was rougher than usual due to his throat being a little sore from the 'game' with Esper, he stormed out into the hallway, pulling a wide-eyed Esper along with him. She was still trying to get over her surprise at having him corner off a small section of the elevator for her so that she wouldn't panic at the close quarters, and thus was too stunned to say anything as he yanked her clear of the doors.

The rest of the group toppled out of the elevator in classic dominoes style, and the ones that had gotten free first watched in amusement as Mikey, carrying a blushing Talia in his arms, fought his way out of the pile and walked over them to safety - despite the many protests from those being used as stepping stones.

"Geez, Mikey, did you put on weight?" Groaning, Don pulled himself to his feet and rubbed at his left shoulder, staggering out of the way as the others slowly copied him and stood, swaying slightly.

"Only a little," Mike grinned, throwing Talia into the air and then catching her again, pretending to choke when she wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent him from tossing her again.

"Would you quit messing around?" Leo growled as Ace pushed past him and headed down the hall. Sending a wary look down each section of the hallway, he snatched his fedora off the floor and shoved it down onto his head, scowling at his brothers in annoyance. Beginning to think that this was the worst idea he'd ever gone along with, he readjusted his katanas where they hung under his coat and headed after Ace, frowning when he found her standing in front of her open apartment door, her eyes wide in shock. "What's--oh damn. Raph! Donnie!"

On cue, his two brothers headed into the completely trashed apartment, previously concealed weapons drawn as they did a sweep of the living quarters, then went to check the two bedrooms and single bathroom, making sure that no unwanted visitors were hiding amongst the chaos before returning to the others.

"M-my apartment...." Shaking, Ace took a step into her home and looked from the upended furniture to the bare shelves that lined one of the walls, the books that used to sit on them strewn across the floor. Her two favourite lamps were smashed on what remained of her coffee table, her TV and stereo system destroyed. She didn't even want to look in the direction of the room she kept her computer in.

"Dear Goddess." Moving carefully, the rest of the girls and the remaining two turtles filed into the apartment, and Kaia closed the door behind them as the group milled around the living room, all of them stunned at the destruction of their friend's home.

Gently pushing Mikey away, Talia climbed out of his arms and went to her sister, hugging her tightly when she saw the glazed shadow to her eyes. "Thank the Gods we weren't here when whoever did this broke in."

"Found a souvenir in the bedroom," Raph announced, holding out a sai and nodding to the small black and neon orange pack of matches that were skewered on the middle prong. "Anyone here smoke?" When the chorus of disgusted protests died down, he plucked his little trophy into his fingers and flipped it over. "'Exile's Fire'? What the hell is that?"

"No clue," Aiden shrugged as she walked over to Ace and lay a hand on her shoulder. "Ace? C'mon, we can salvage most of this. You have insurance, right?"

"....yeah.... yeah I got insurance.... But why the hell did this happen to me?!" Angry, she pried herself out of Talia's arms and glared at the mess around her. "Dammit, I just put the last payment on that TV last week! And my computer--!"

Donnie sighed sympathetically. "I might be able to fix the hard drive for you, but the monitor and everything else looks like it'll have to be replaced."

"Well, fuck."

Undaunted by her language, after all he lived with Raph, Leo frowned and walked deeper into the apartment, eyeing the balcony doors that hung askew on the tracks. "Eleven floors up with no fire escape, that's not an easy thing to do."

"Not for a Human," Esper agreed as she carefully picked her way through the mess and went out onto the balcony, taking a quick look around before turning back to inspect the doors, her eyes darkening at the sight of deep rends in the metal tracks.

Her expression wasn't missed by Leonardo. "What?"

Not saying a word, she reached out and placed her left hand over the markings as she let her nails morph into talons, then curled her fingers into the marks to get the point across. "Another Were did this," she told him as she closed her eyes took in a deep breath of the air. "The scent isn't old. Very early this morning, I think. There were two... no, wait. Three. All male. Wolves. They were on the hunt, the destruction is just a ruse, to hide their true intent." Sighing heavily, she opened her eyes and looked over at Aiden. "Had we been here, they would have tried to kill us."

"Emphasis on the 'tried'," Kaia frowned as she picked up a battered hardcover book and shook dirt from an upturned potted plant off of it. "Question is, why? Other than Ace, none of us really know anything about this city, or have any reason to have pissed these people off...."

Ace looked up from glaring at the mess on her floor and blinked at the numerous gazes that were fixed on her. "What?"

"You did mention that some of your friends...." Talia trailed off at the venomous glare her sister sent her and lowered her eyes, turning instead to try to salvage the plant that lay on the floor nearby. "Nevermind."

"If you all must know, the only Were I know is the owner of the 'Electric Nation', and he wouldn't have any reason to come and rampage through my apartment! He isn't even part of a pack for crying out loud!"

"Whoa, okay! Okay!" Startled at her anger, Donnie tucked his bo staff under his left arm and made calming motions at her. "We're not accusing you of anything, Ace! Calm down!"

"I am calm!"

"Oh yeah, you're all sorts of stable all over the place, aren't you?" Aiden muttered as the lavender haired woman's breath hissed through her clenched teeth.

Mikey looked up from watching Talia scoop the soil back into the upturned potted plant and sent a hopeful glance at Leo, who sighed and nodded slightly. Grinning now, the turtle in orange turned to the girls and dared to drape his arms over Aiden and Ace's shoulders, tucking them against his sides. "Looks like you'll be bunkin' with us for a while, ladies."

A'Janae didn't look too thrilled. "What? Why? Even if whoever did this comes back, we can handle ourselves just fine!"

Kaia grimaced. "Oh yeah. We were doing real good back in that alleyway."

Wincing at the reminder as she stepped back into the apartment, Esper hooked her thumbs into the front pockets of her pants and blushed slightly. "If I had known we'd be fighting vampires and demons, I wouldn't have let my guard down."

"No. It isn't your fault," A'Janae muttered, drawing the surprises gazes of the group. "None of us were ready for a serious fight."

Her anger temporarily forgotten, Ace pulled away from Mikey and bit her bottom lip as she ran her hands through her hair, freeing it from the bobby pins that were holding the locks off her shoulders. "Aiden, it's your call. Whaddya wanna do, girl?"

Aiden glanced at Esper questioningly, then looked over at Leo when the Were shrugged. "You sure? This isn't something to take lightly, when things get serious - and I assure you that they will - you're going to have to be able to let us take the lead on the supernatural stuff."

"I'm sure," he replied without hesitation. "So long as you accept our lead when it comes to everyone's safety, in any situation."

The girls exchanged curious looks with one another, then all eyes turned to Aiden, who smirked. "Deal."

"Good. Then grab what you'll need and let's go before whoever did this decides to come....back?" Leo blinked in surprise as all the girls ran from the room, packing clothes and various items with almost unnatural speed. "Only bring what you can carry!"

"No prob!" Ace smirked as she finished unhooking the cables from her hard drive and thrust the machine into Esper's arms. "Esper's strong, she can probably carry a lot!"

"I am not a beast of burden!" the Were protested, although she did tuck the computer under her left arm, balancing it on her hip.

Aiden rolled her eyes from where she was digging though Ace's bedroom, trying to find the bag that she had left there the day before. "Ace, quit annoying the jaguar, okay? And dammit, where the 'ell's me backpack? Oy, nevermind. Found it!"

Raph rolled his eyes and leaned back against a bookshelf, hooking his left thumb into his belt while twirling a sai in his right hand. "Leo, ya don't know what ya've gotten us into," he muttered, eyeing Talia as she finished repotting the plant and got to her feet with the pot in her arms. "No way."

"Why not?" she countered, hugging the battered plant to herself.

Mikey frowned and gently tried to tug the pot out of her hands. "It'll die in the lair."

Grinning, she fixed him with a challenging look. "Wanna bet?"

"Oh not again." Sighing, Donnie watched Raph rise to the challenge, ready and willing to get a few bucks out of the girl. "Talia, that wasn't a good idea."

She winked at him. "Watch and learn, Brainaic." Turning back to the one in front of her, she smirked and shifted the pot to her right arm as she extended her left hand. "Twenty bucks says it lives. If it dies, you're twenty smackers richer."

"Deal!" Raph quickly closed the bet by shaking her hand, then grinned. "Easiest twenty bucks I've ever made."

Kaia snickered from behind him. "Don't be so sure, Raphael. Talia has a.... gift.... when it comes to nurturing plants."

"Ack! My sister's gambling!" Ace, who had witnessed the entire deal, stood there for a moment before rushing over and hugging Talia. "Oh! I'm so proud of you!"

"Always thought she was a little off," Aiden commented with a grin as she rejoined the group, her backpack slung over one shoulder.

"A little, amiga? Try 'a lot'. Ace is completely loco."

"Shaddup, Esper!"

"For once, I agree with the jaguar," A'Janae said, smiling slightly. "You're nuts, Ace."

"Ah!" Grinning, Mikey pointed at the two sisters. "See, Ace? If A'Janae and Esper can agree on this, then it must be true!"

Smiling, Leo sent Donnie a sidelong glance. "Remind me again why I invited them over?"

"Cuz you're a sucka for punishment," Raph smirked, glancing at Kaia when she elbowed him. "Hey, watch it Pipsqueak."

"Pipsqueak?" A mischievous gleam appeared in Kaia's eyes as she rose her hands. "Oh, you're in for it now."

"Hey, hey, hey! Not in my apartment!"

Aiden rolled her eyes. "It's not like we could make it any worse, Ace."

"Oh, bite me." Ace paused as a rather evil thought occured to her and grinned. "Better yet, go bite, Leo. I'm sure that'll keep you two busy for a while."

As Leo's cheeks turned a darker green, Raph and Mikey busied themselves by doubling over from laughter. It was only Donnie that tried to hide his chuckle, an easy fact considering the loud howls of mirth from the girls, all except for Aiden of course, she was busy chasing a cackling Ace around the apartment while swinging her backpack like a club.

While the others tried in vain to get their breaths back, the two runners took the chase out into the hallway, and Aiden's voice was clearly heard in all it's Irish glory. "Get back 'ere ya pervert! Just ya wait till Oi get me hands on ya, ya'll be sorry then, lass!!"

Still snickering, Raph looked at Donnie and grinned. "You better go rescue your brainy girlfriend before Aiden gets her."

The other turtle sputtered. "S-she's not my girlfriend!"

Esper shook her head a little as she got her laughter under control and put her free arm around Talia's shoulders, guiding her out the door as Kaia and A'Janae hurried to try to catch up with Ace and Aiden. "C'mon, Chiquita, let's go save your sister." Pausing for a moment, she glanced back at the group behind her, smirking when she saw a still blushing Leonardo and a very flustered Donnie bickering with Raph and Mikey. "Adios, amigos!"

"Wha, huh?" Turning at the call, Mike blinked at the empty apartment for a moment, then yelped and ran after them. "Hey, wait for us! Hold the elevator!"

Grinning, Talia waved to him as the doors slid shut. "Don't worry!" she called cheerfully, raising her voice so as to be heard over the snickers of the other women. "The stairs are good for your calves!"

By the fourth floor, Aiden had managed to regain what little breath she could, leaning against a grinning Kaia as she did so. "Oh Goddess, that was priceless, Talia. I haven't laughed like that in weeks!"

"I'll turn you into a troublemaker yet!" Ace crowed as she rearranged the strap of her backpack on her left shoulder, then an arm over her little sister's shoulders. "Of course, we'll have to protect you from Raph."

Kaia smirked. "Or we could let Esper distract him," she suggested slyly, eliciting thoughtful humms from most of the others as everyone turned to look at the blushing Were, who seemed to find the floor extremely interesting to stare at.

"....cállate...."

"Translation?" A'Janae looked at Talia, who chuckled.

"She just told us to shut up."

"Fat chance of that happenin'," Ace grinned. "Of course, we could switch our attentions to Aiden."

"What?! No! Dinnae turn this on me!" A thought occured to her then, making a rather evil smile spread over the fiery haired woman's lips as she looked at Ace. "Then again, we could always discuss you and Donatello."

"....isn't this a lovely pattern for the walls?"

"Aye," Aiden grinned as the elevator slowed to a stop on the main floor. "That's what I thought."

True to form, the doors slid open to reveal a less-than-pleased Raphael, who merely stood there with his arms folded over his plastron while his brothers stood a little ways behind him, calmly watching the show.

It wasn't until he glanced at Esper, who was still blushing, that he spoke. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

Blushing even more at the giggles from the others, Esper tightened her hold on the hard drive she was carrying and pushed past him. "¡Cállate! ¡Idiota!"

Dumbfounded, he glanced from the retreating Were to the snickering women still in the elevator. "What the.... wait. She just called me an idiot, didn't she?! Hey! Get back here!"

"Sharp as a tack, that one is," A'Janae mused as he spun and stomped after the Were, enabling the women to leave the elevator.

"Do we even want to know what that was about?" Leo sighed when Aiden walked over to him, groaning a little when she grinned widely and shook her head. "That's what I thought. And by the way, don't ever do that again. You girls should be more careful. Especially now that there's someone after Ace."

"Leo, we know. Really. But if we don't relax then we're going to drive each other insane." She looked back at her friends, the worry in her lessening as she gazed at Talia and Mikey, who were teasing Ace and Donnie to the point that she thought the turtle would never stop blushing. "This city is horribly new to some of us, you know. Keeping things light helps to keep the homesickness at bay."

He frowned at the shadows in her eyes, suddenly realising how far away from her home she really was. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Aye, Laddie."

That tore a groan from him as he turned to get the group moving, wanting to head back to the security of the lair. "And stop calling me that!"

~*~

Luckily for them, it was easy to catch up with Esper and Raphael. All the group had to do was follow the multilingual yelling, which echoed very loudly in the underground tunnels.

"Dammit, if yer gonna swear at me at least do it in a language that I can fuckin' understand!!"

There was an incoherent snarling hiss followed by an angry, "¡Vete!"

"What?! What the hell does that mean?!"

Another growl, this time in muffled English.

"Okay, that I understand! Now what the fuck's your problem?!"

"Idiota!"

"Alright, that's it!"

The group turned the corner just as Raphael was getting ready to launch himself at Esper, and Ace wailed when she realised what was going to happen. "Don't destroy my computer!! I still have three payments left!!"

A'Janae sighed. "Nice priorities you have there, Ace."

"It's a Pentium Four with a CD Burner!"

"Notice how little we care," Kaia muttered as she braved the storm, as it were, and walked forward to take Esper's free arm, pulling the Were away from Raphael before either of them could attack the other, waiting until they were well out of eavesdropping range before speaking. "Are you alright?"

There was a lengthy pause before Esper shook her head, her long hair hiding her expression.

"Why? Because of the teasing? You know we didn't mean it to be cruel."

"It's not that."

"Then what?"

"....it's because you're right. And I don't want you to be right." A long sigh left her as she freed her arm from Kaia's grasp and rose her hand to tuck her hair behind her ears. "I have never been away from my Tribe before. Never. We were a close Family, working together to protect each other and our Territory. And now I'm alone, a stranger in a strange jungle of metal and concrete. Nothing is familiar, and I don't want to be feeling like this because it's yet another sign that I'm alone, for had I still my Tribe, my mother and the Wise One would counsel me, give me advice and reassurance.... and now I have nothing...."

"That's not true and you know it! What about us, hmm?" Kaia protested, grabbing the Were's arm again with such force that she drew a surprised hazel gaze. "We may not completely understand you, or what you've lost, but we're still your friends!"

"It's not the same...."

"No, it isn't. It's different, but that doesn't mean that we can't help you. So what if you like someone, what's the big deal? Life is too short to throw away opportunities, Esper. I know. Water Sprites are Immortal, and while I may have the tendency to act like I've no cares, I've been alive for over two centuries. I've seen many lives come and go, loves lost and gained. What's the harm in seeing where a Path leads? What if in the future, you look back on this and wish that you had followed your feelings? What then?"

Esper fell silent at that, and the two walked on in silence for a few minutes as she mulled over what Kaia had just told her. "Kaia?"

"Hmm?"

"In my current state...." She paused and sighed, hating what she was about to admit. "....I'm not strong enough to handle rejection."

That made Kaia chuckle, drawing the Were's gaze. "Oh, is that what you're worried about, Esper? Haven't you been paying attention? Surely you've noticed the already growing attraction between certain members of our group and theirs."

"Si...."

"Trust me, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Even if you did call him an idiot. Not that he isn't, mind you."

Esper smiled a little at that and gently bumped her shoulder against Kaia's. "Gracias, amiga."

"Anytime. Now, question of the moment : do you know where you're going?"

"Ah, si." Feeling as if a weight had lifted off her shoulders, she rose a hand and scratched at her nose. "The stench in here may turn my stomach, but I can still make out our faint trail from when we headed to the surface."

"I was wondering how you knew the way back to the lair."

Yelping, both Kaia and Esper spun at the voice, the latter glaring at Leo. "How long have you been there?" A pause. "Carumba, how much did you hear?!"

Seeing that she seemed like she was ready to bolt, Leo tried to calm her fears before she panicked. "Not much. Only the part about rejection onwards."

Still tense, Esper sent a wary glance at Kaia, who shrugged. "....alright. Forgive me. I'm.... on edge."

"It's okay, really. Aiden told me a bit about you." Smiling gently, he joined them as they resumed walking and fell into step beside her. "You must miss the rainforest very much."

"Si. More than you know, amigo. More than you know." She paused for a moment, then sighed deeply. "I suppose I'll see it again once this is over."

"Yeah, well, if you do. You'd better stay in touch," Kaia frowned. "Else I'll hunt you down myself!"

"You, amiga? Trying to hunt me in the heart of my Homeland?" Esper chuckled, clearly amused by that thought. It was exactly what Kaia had been hoping for. "Oh, that would be a sight."

Grinning, Kaia exchanged relieved glances with Leo, then returned her attention to where they were going, glad at least, that she had managed to help Esper out of her worries. The next step, of course, was to get Talia to help her with Raphael. After all, she mused, all work and no play makes for a very bored group of people. And in our case, boredom is certainly not a good thing.