Heart to Heart

The morning sun filtered through the faded American flag that swayed in the gentle breeze of the open window. A few birds chirruping somewhere outside. Lazily stretching out, Max patted the empty space next to her, noting Chloe wasn't there much to her disappointment. Rolling nearer to the bedside, she checked the time on the alarm, almost having a fit when she realized it was gone mid-day, then relaxing remembering it was Saturday.

Getting out of bed and stretching, a slightly unpleasant odor filling her nostrils. She might not have her acute sense of smell in human form, but not even her nose could miss that. After last night's antics, she needed a serious shower. Quickly rooting around in Chloe's room, she managed to locate some shower supplies and a change of clothes from the now rather sorry excuse for a dresser.

Once showered, the young Ahri was brushing her hair, noting the light green encircling her eyes in the mirror's reflction, not that she needed a visual cue to tell her Akira was back, she just knew. 'Morning, Akira.'

'Good morning,' Akira replied chipperly.

'Enjoying the show?' Max asked, buttoning up the red flannel shirt she liberated from Chloe's now wrecked dresser. She had stopped caring long ago if Akira saw her, instead just ignoring the remarks.

'Can't complain.' There was a verbal shrug in her tone, less smug than usual.

'What... no comments?' That actually surprised Max more than anything.

'It's no fun if you don't blush,' Akira pointed out, 'besides I seen it all before.'

'That's what Rachel said,' Max replied without thinking.

'Oh, when did she see?' Akira asked with gleeful curiosity. This was news to her, potentially exciting news. Had she missed something important while she had been away?

'Uh…' Max immediately began backtracking, 'she hasn't. Don't worry, that privilege is still just yours.'

'You almost sound disappointed by that,' Arkia goaded, happy to have found an opening to tease Max.

'Wha... no, I didn't mean it like that.' Turning away from the mirror, now fully dressed, she headed downstairs to see if anyone was around.

Feeling a little disappointed at the house being empty, she found a note on the coffee pot from Joyce telling her to help herself and that she would see them all later. Shrugging, she helped herself to a mug of coffee and as she went through to the dining room spied another note on the cake cover, this time to Chloe. 'Leave some for Max' was scrawled across it. Smiling to herself, she lifted the cover to find two large pieces of chocolate cake.

Helping herself to one piece she took a big bite, moaning happily at the chocolate goodness that was Joyce's cooking. 'Best breakfast EVER!'

'So, not into girls, then?' Akira said as nonchalant as possible.

'AKIRA!' Max choked as she washed down a mouthful of cake that got lodged with her coffee. 'I never said... I am eating, you know.'

Eager for a distraction from this inappropriate question, she nibbled on her cake as she wandered over to inspect the photos lined up on the mantle piece. The recovered picture of baby Max, Chloe and Rachel had taken pride of place.

'Sorry, maybe just not the right girl, then.'

Max rolled her eyes. 'Ugh… If I ever was going to have this conversation, it wouldn't be with you.'

'Oh… why not?' Akira asked innocently.

Max stopped in front of a small mirror. Looking at it, she raised an eyebrow so her passenger could see. 'You REALLY need to ask that?'

'Err yeah, who else ya gonna talk to about it? Least I won't go blabbing.' That much was true. Even if Akira wanted to, there was no-one she could tell. She was stuck in Max's head, after all, and telling other Ahri wouldn't really be a benifit.

'Because you can't… besides, all you'd do is try to poke fun,' Max pointed out, her attention being called to her phone as it went off signaling a message, Pulling her phone out of her pocket and checking it, she saw it was a message from Rachel.

Rachel - Afternoon, come see what we found

Attached was a google map of a location on the beach, just up from the lighthouse in a tucked out the way cove.

'Guess I've been summoned.' She grinned, quickly finding Rachel's trainers from the previous day. 'I really should bring some of my clothes here. Can't keep borrowing Rachel's clothes.'

She passed a quick glance at the lone piece of cake on the side as she headed for the door. Walking down the street, the midday sun shining brightly in a cloudless sky, Max hummed to herself as she happily chewed down another bite of the recently liberated lone piece of cake. One day, she'd be able to walk down the street without hiding what she was, but she'd settle for going to see friends, even if it usually resulted in something a little crazy. Her short experience with Chloe and Rachel had taught her that much.

'I'm sorry, for poking fun by the way.' Akira didn't want to completely piss Max off. That would be counter-productive.

Max frowned, suspicious. 'Who are you and what have you done with Akira?'

'Look, you're kinda like my only permanent link to the living world. I gotta get my kicks from somewhere...' Akira explained matter-of-factly. 'However, if you wanna talk serious, then I'll shoot straight.'

'Really... what about...?' Before Max could press her for details about her past, Akira cut her off.

'Accept that you know how I feel about my past'

Not willing to back down that easily, Max insisted. 'It makes you who you are, so of course I wanna know.'

Akira let out a sigh, 'I'll tell you one day, I promise.'

'Can you at least tell me WHY you can't?' Max asked frustratedly. Akira knew pretty much all there was to know about her, so why couldn't she just make it a level playing field and share personal information herself?

'It's... complicated.' More than Max could ever guess. 'Look, the day I tell you will be the day you no longer need me. That much I can promise you.'

'That actually sounds depressing,' Max admitted, not expecting to feel so sad about that possibility. Sure, Akira was a pain but it would feel lonely without her.

Akira called bullshit on that. 'Oh come on, you can't wait for the day I'm no longer around.'

'Only due to your smart-ass comments and reluctance to actually open up to me... although some privacy would be nice occasionally.' To be fair, it was getting to the point where she forgot there was someone else in her head, until Akira started talking anyway.

'Like I said, you're my only link to the living. So, smart-ass comments are kinda staying for the most part, but I can be serious when you need me to be.' Tired of discussing this, the elder Ahri switched topic. 'Speaking of, we're getting off track.'

'No were not, see,' Max replied pointing to her phone to show they were in fact going the right way.

'Hardy har, such wit. You know what I meant.'

Kicking a small stone along the path as she swallowed the last of her cake, slightly disappointed there wasn't any more, Max let out short sigh as she entered wooded forest. The canopy of leaves blocked out the sunlight, giving the breeze a much cooler feel. Off to her left in the distance, the waves could be heard lazily crashing onto the beach, with a few gulls calling out to each other somewhere out to sea.

'I'm not sure... I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel, or what I'm looking for...' Max struggled to find the words to express how she felt right now.

'I'm listening,' Akira reassured, curious to see what she was going to say.

'Joyce is family, I feel the same about her as I do my own mom. Unlike Victoria... I think we could be friends. You, on the other hand... it's a love-hate relationship,' the young Ahri smirked.

'And you say about my wit, hypocrite,' Akira chuckled lightly.

'It's the company I keep,' Max shot back playfully.

Akira noticed three key people Max hadn't spoken about yet. 'And Rachel, Kate, and Chloe?'

Those three names made her frown. 'I... don't know... it's confusing.'

'Try me.'

'I… like having them around, I guess I...' Max hesitated, unsure whether she wanted to continue that thought or not.

'Smartass comments are off right now, pinkie swear,' Akira promised.

Not too convinced by the promise, Max continued regardless. 'Is it bad I wanna curl up with 'em at night?'

'Hussy,' Akira teased lightly.

'See, this is what I mean.'

'Sorry, sorry,' the elder Ahri chuckled, 'I couldn't help it. Ya know I'm only playing.'

'Uh-huh.'

Keen to cheer Max up, Akira gave her opinion. 'On a serious note though... no, it's not, although…'

'Although?'

Seeing no point in beating around the bush, Akira continued. 'I might be reading too much into it... but there's more to it than that, isn't there?'

Max frowned, not sure what she was getting at. 'Not sure I follow.'

'By my count its three times now you've put yourself in harm's way to protect them, Kate in particular,' Akira explained, remembering them clearly.

'I don't want them to get hurt…' Max paused, wondering where that number came from. 'Hang on, three?'

Akira sighed, realizing she would have to literally spell it out. 'When Chloe first came home, at school impersonating the head, and last night with that guy... Frank.'

'I hardly count intimidating the head a personal risk,' Max corrected.

'Someone paying attention may figure it out,' Akira pointed out, 'but that's beside the point.'

Dropping the point for now, Max focused on the more important side of this conversation. 'Yes, I want to protect them, although the easiest way would be to not be around them until this is sorted.'

Getting so tired of the circle of blame, Akira had to really bite her tongue. 'And were back here again, Max, it's not your fault.'

Sensing the frustration from her passenger, Max relented her self blame. 'I know… It's just... The thought of losing any of them… it terrifies me.'

'They're your pack,' Akira answered simply.

'My what?' Max choked in surprise. Out of all the answers Akira COULD have given, that wasn't the one she had been expecting.

'Your pack,' she repeated. 'You know what one of those is, right?'

'I know what a pack is,' Max replied immediately, 'but I'm not a...'

'You were gonna say wolf, weren't you?' Akira finished, sounding mildly accusatory.

'No…' Max mumbled weakly.

Seeing right through the lie, Akira continued. 'Do you remember what I said to you the first day we met?'

'I am both, so I need to think like both,' Max recited begrudgingly.

'Exactly.'

Confused, Max frowned. 'Still, they're not wolves, though.'

'Ever seen a male Ahri?' Akira asked. Even Max should know the answer by now.

'Trick question, they don't exist,' Max answered with ease.

'And yet were still born,' Akira pointed out. 'Here's a hint, it's not immaculate conception.'

'I… I knew that.'

'Ahri...' Akira paused, correcting herself, 'ok, I can only really speak personally, but we're not picky on race.'

Max considered that for a while, trying to get where she was coming from. 'Sooo, you're saying I've pretty much adopted Kate, Chloe and Rachel?'

'More or less.'

'That doesn't really... oh, we're here.' Thankful for the distraction, Max stopped on the beach in front of a large cave entrance, the waves gently crashing against the shore behind her. Several footprints in the sand led inside along with some other markings, like something had been dragged through the sand. 'I wonder what Chloe's cooked up this time.'

…