"Selene? What's wrong? Pride asked, flinching when she flung another pot into the sink.

"Nothing. Why would anything be wrong?" She said through clenched teeth, scrubbing so hard another pan that he saw the sponge begin to disintegrate.

"You just seem a little...tense," He said cautiously. He knew from experience that provoking an angry woman with a frying pan this early in the morning could end up with alot of broken bones on his part.

"It's just...It's just Lex gets me so MAD!" She shouted slamming the pan onto the counter so hard that it buckled. Pride sighed,

"You shouldn't pay any attention to him. He's impossible," He said, shaking his head as he ate another spoonful of the bran-flakes he had acquired (much to the Cloe's disgust) the previous morning.

"You don't know what he said," Selene said quietly, her voice filled with such contempt that Pride was shocked.

"What did he say?" He asked gently. It was Selene's turn to sigh and she sat opposite him tapping her finger-nails on the counter.

"You know last night when you said you heard shouting?" Pride nodded, "Well, the kid's took Tai-san's crystal again and Lex was furious. He started threatening that he'd throw them out if they didn't say where they and hidden the crystal so I panicked and asked him what Tai-san would think if she saw him. He dropped the kids and ran off and then the little girl gave me the crystal. It had been in her pocket the whole time," Selene said, pausing to take a drink from her glass and observing Pride's reaction, "I felt terrible for using Tai-san to get a Lex like that so I went back to give him the crystal and apologize...when I got to his room he was sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest and his head in his hands, crying...God he looked so helpless and alone I just had to say something,"

"Lex was *crying*?" Pride interrupted, looking incredulous. Selene nodded,

"I know, I was shocked too. So, I asked him what was wrong and he sort of look at me...like he was trying to figure me out or something. Then he said..." She paused, the anger coming back full force, "You know I told you about the bulimia I had before? Well then he said: 'Im fine, not all of us throw up to make ourselves feel better you know'. I mean, how could he SAY that??" She cried, tears gathering in her eyes. Pride remained thoughtful,

"He didn't mean it Sel...I think he was trying to push you away so he wouldn't get hurt again...y'know? I mean, after Tai-san..."

"And Zandra..." Selene added quietly. Pride paused,

"Zandra?" He questioned. Selene's eyes filled with tears once more,

"She was part of our tribe and was Lex's wife...she died years ago when we were up on eagle mountain getting the cure...she was pregnant with Lex's child at the time," She said quietly. Realization dawned in Pride's eyes,

"Amber mentioned her...But you see what I mean? I think Lex is so scared of losing people he doesn't want to let himself open up to anyone," he said quietly.

**** Lex tossed and turned in his bed, reluctant to get up and face the empty world outside but knowing he'd have to at some point. Eventually, he gave up trying to go back to sleep and swung his legs over the side of the bed, resting his heavy head in his hands for a few minutes before forcing himself to stand and walk to his wardrobe. He opened it wearily and stared at his clothes with distaste.

He wondered whether he'd ever liked the garish black trousers with yellow checks down the sides and shook his head, rummaging deeper in his closet for something else...something simple and respectful. His days with other women were over, no point in dressing up. He would stay loyal to Tai-san, whether she was alive somewhere or in heaven, he wouldn't allow himself to betray her. He found a pair of black jeans and a plain black shirt and pulled them on, fixing his eyes on the wall in front of him so he wouldn't have to look at the scars all over his body.

He sighed as he turned towards the mirror to apply his tribal markings and almost laughed...if someone had told him putting up make-up would be part of his morning routine three years ago, he would have knocked their block of...after rolling about the floor laughing of course. He gave an unhappy smile and drew a black tear in the corner of his right eye. Then he saw something that made him drop the eye-pencil he was holding and stare at the mirror.

Staring back at him...was Tai-san.

"Tai-san?" He whispered, whirling around. But she wasn't there. He looked back to the mirror and she stared right back at him, waving and smiling. He reached out and touched the mirrors cool surface, real tears dripping down his cheeks. "Tai-san?" He asked, his voice rising slightly. Tai-san smiled sadly at him and blew a kiss before dissolving into the depths of the mirror, leaving Lex to stare at his own shocked reflection. "NO! TAI-SAN COME BACK!" He yelled, clawing at the mirror.

But she was gone.

He let out a choked sob and smashed his fist into the glass, not caring if his hands were ripped to shreds if it would bring him an inch closer to the woman who he'd missed for so long. He continued to pound at the mirror, a red rage swallowing him whole. An anger so strong and pure that Zoot himself would have been frightened of it. When his fists pushed through the wooden backing of the mirror, he finally stopped.

He stared aghast at the remains of the mirror and numbly glanced down at his bloody hands. "I'm a fucking loonie," He said quietly, staring at the mess about him. The shards of glass all over the floor reflected parts of his face and he frowned looking down at them. It looked as though bits of himself were lying on the ground around him. *Well if that isn't a Goddamn metaphor for you I don't know what is* He thought bitterly.

He debated tidying up but instead settled for bandaging up his hands and pulling on his boots, scowling and cursing all the while because pulling on boots when you could barely move your hands was no mean feat.

When he was finally done, he began walking towards the kitchen silently. He never usually got up this early in the morning but even the sleeping pills hadn't helped take the nightmares away last night and he woke up every half hour or so. He wasn't actually hungry either...the thought of food made him nauseous...so he wasn't quite sure why he decided to go to the kitchen.

As he blearily stumbled around the mall, he didn't even notice the little girl and boy who followed him, stifling giggles at his clumsy demenour. They occasionally hid around a corner when he glanced over his shoulder but he was so tired that he probably wouldn't even have noticed if a bloody giraffe was following him. They both shoved their fists in their mouths to stop the laughter escaping when he stubbed his toe on a table-leg.

"Geseki," He cursed quietly, wincing. Both children stopped dead in their tracks and looked at each other, wondering if they'd heard what they thought they'd heard. Lex frowned when he heard a sort of gasp and spun around to see the pair of kids he'd threatened to chuck out last night, staring at him like he'd grown another head. "What?" He asked, trying to seem annoyed. The truth was, he was too tired to be annoyed. He was too tired to be anything. Though, he wasn't tired from sleep deprivation, he was just tired of life in general. Of the nightmares, the scars, the constant string of reminders that he was completely alone...that he was a victim. He hated that word with every fiber in his being.

Victim.

It was so final. So condemning. It made you have to face up to the fact that you were worthless, that you were pathetic. Lex sighed miserably, wishing he had a very large glass of scotch in his hands right about now..and a few aspirin wouldn't go amiss either.

"Nothing," The kids said in unison. Lex nodded, satisfied, and turned away before freezing mid-step.

"What did you say?" He asked spinning back around to face them.

"We said nothing. Are you deaf?" The little boy asked him, tilting his head to the side. Lex was rendered speechless.

"You talked...shit...SELENE!!!" He yelled, not taking his eyes off the children. So they could talk. Well that was a kick in the head, he'd just started to grow used to their silence.

"What do you want Lex? Are the kids breathing too loud? Or did one of them cry and get their tears all over your boots?" Selene spat from behind him. Lex flinched slightly and hoped she didn't see it.

"They talked," He said, nodding towards the kids. Selene gaped at him and then turned to the children.

"You can talk huh?" She asked them, raising an expectant eyebrow. The kids stared at her, silently with blank looks on their faces. "You can talk you know...I won't get mad at you or anything.." She said softly. The children didn't move. Selene turned angrily to face Lex, "That isn't funny you know. God what is *wrong* with you? I tried to help you last night and you act like a total jerk and this morning you play a JOKE on me?" She shouted, her voice getting higher and more shrill on every word.

"I didn't!" Lex protested furiously. He turned to the kids and pointed a threatening finger at them, "Show her and talk you little midgets or I'll..."

"Shut it Lex. For once in your life, just shut up...and don't even think of asking me to change those bandages for you later when you can't be bothered. I don't want to know how you did it, and I don't care either!" Selene hissed before stalking away, her hands shaking with anger. Lex shut his eyes briefly and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ward away the headache that was bound to come.

//"Shut it Alexander. This is between your Mom and me," Lex's Dad said, not even sparing him a glance.

"No. You stay away from her!" Lex shouted indignantly.

"*Lexie go back to your room*" His mother pleaded.

"SHUT UP BITCH! Don't you talk to my son in your Goddamn language. He's MY fuckin' son and I'll do whatever the hell I want with him!!" His father yelled, his face red with a mixture of rage and too much alcohol. He dropped Lex's mother to the floor and turned to Lex, stumbling as he staggered towards, him, taking off his belt as he walked. Lex gulped...the strap. It hurt like hell but he stood his ground. Dad wasn't going to hurt Uma anymore. He was 10 now, and he had to protect her.

"NO HANK!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" His mother cried, struggling to her feet and jumping on her husband's back. Hank roared and pulled her off before throwing her down the stairs behind them.

"UMA!" Lex shouted, frozen to the spot at the sight of his mother's pale, limp body at the bottom of the stairs. Her beautiful black hair covered her face, but her head was twisted at a funny angle.

"Oh my God," His father muttered, tripping as he ran down towards the still body of his wife. "Oh shit...oh shit...Jisun, baby!! Oh my God..THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT BOY!" He shouted up the stairs to the horrified 10 year old.

"I'm sorry," Lex whispered, his legs giving away underneath him.//

Lex shook his head, trying to dispel the memory that had haunted him for so long. When Tai-san was around the nightmares had disappeared. The simple knowledge that someone cared was enough to ease the pain inside of him...but now she was gone. Lex cleared his throat and turned his attention back on the two figures standing before him.

"Why didn't you say anything when Selene was here?" He asked, trying to sound angry but actually sounding weary.

"*Because we didn't want to*" The boy said indignantly. If Lex's eyes got any wider, his eyelids would probably disappear.

"What did you say?" He asked quietly, his voice shaking invoulentarily.

"*You really are deaf aren't you?*" The girl asked before giggling.

"Y..You speak Korean?" Lex managed to choke out. Both the kids stared at him like he was a two-year old.

"*What does it look like?*" The boy asked. Lex stared at them for another moment,

"How do you know I speak Korean then?" He asked, dropping his mask of cruelty and disregard for the moment.

"*Well firstly because you get what we're saying now and secondly because you said a bad word,*" The girl said, still staring at him like he was a complete moron.

"Bad word?" Lex repeated, confused.

"*We're not allowed to say it, are we Charlie?*" The girl asked the boy. He shook his head solemnly.

"*When you banged your toe...you said a naughty word*" The boy, Charlie, explained patiently. Lex clicked and had the urge to laugh,

"You mean geseki?" He said, raising an eyebrow when both boy and girl burst into giggles.

"*It took you long enough,*" The girl said. Lex swallowed and let himself say the words that he hadn't let himself speak in years.

"*What's your name?*" He asked them, surprising himself with how easy it was to just slip back into the language.

"*My name is Charlie and this is Mouse*" Charlie said, pointing to each of them.

"*We're sorry we kept taking the crystal but we were just looking..honest! We would have given it back...will you be our friend? But if you say yes, you have to promise to stop being so grumpy all the time,*" Mouse said in one breath, speaking so fast Lex had to concentrate to understand her. When he realized what she'd just said, he was extremely tempted to just tell them to piss off...but something stopped him. Tai'san's kind face was stuck in his mind and he knew what she would want him to do.

"*Alright. Apology accepted...but ask next time. And...I'll be your friend but there's no way in hell I'm promising to be nice. Take it or leave it*" He said. Mouse and Charlie turned to each other and talked quietly before Mouse walked up to him, hands on hips.

"*Deal*" She said before slapping Lex on the leg and shouting, "*YOUR IT!*" Lex stared at her for a good minute while she and Charlie ran away from him and smiled slightly before racing after them.

Maybe was wasn't completely alone after all.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Doesn't that make you go "Awww"...hehe. I was writing this fic and when I got to the mirror scene I was feeling completely depressed, so I decided to give poor Lexie a break. What do you think? Questions? Comments?

Thanks,

Laeth