So I know I literally just posted this chapter. But I changed everything around. And now everyone is in different roles. So I went through reallocating storylines and dialogue. And I don't know how I've managed to make this story even more angsty but I fucking have. I'm so sorry. Enjoy guys! This is very similar to the previous chapter, but with more insight here and there, and with different people in different scenes and shit. This is the canon I am working with now.

Part I
Welcome to Beacon

The shattered moon was high in the sky above the city of Vale as a man turned out of an alleyway, brushing people aside as he made his way through the crowds of late night shoppers. He and his followers took a right, and there was a soft jingling sound as he pushed open the door of Dust 'Til Dawn, one of the prominent Dust shops in town.

"Do you have any idea," he said conversationally, leaning on the counter, "How hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?"

At his signal, one of his men pulled out a gun, flipping off the safety as he levelled it at the elderly man behind the counter, who raised his hands in fear.

"Please!" the shopkeeper cried, "Just take my Lin and leave!"

"Shhhh…." The man said, rolling his eyes. "Calm down. We're not here for your money." He shot a sideways look at his men. "Grab the Dust."

The men pulled out various boxes and briefcases, and started packing up the powerful crystals under the glass countertop. A couple of them went over to the powdered dust containers on the walls, where they began syphoning it off into tubes for transportation.

One of them, heading over to t tube near the back, was startled by music coming from the weapons catalogues at the back of the shop. A girl with long black hair was flicking through them.

The man pulled out a sword. "Alright, kid," he said, waving it at her back. "Put your hands where I can see 'em." There was no response. "I said, hands in the air! You deaf or something?"

He pulled the boy around, and the girl's hair fell aside, a pale, freckled face, silver eyes and a large pair of headphones.

The man rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, and mimed taking off the headphones. The girl did so.

"Yes?" he said, looking confused.

"I said, put your hands in the air! Now!" the man insisted, glowering. What was the point in being a goon in a Dust heist if no one listened to you?

"Are you…robbing me?" the girl said, looking puzzled for a moment.

"Yes!" the man cried in exasperation.

Puzzlement turned to comprehension. "Ooooh…" the girl said, narrowing her eyes.

Alec Hunter, leader of said heist, looked up as one of his hired goons sailed through the air, landing on the floor heavily. He rolled his eyes, and gestured to a few more of his men to investigate.

-O-

It was a quiet evening in the city of Vale. Shoppers had mainly headed home, and the streets were peaceful and empty.

Then another unfortunate hired goon sailed through the window of a Dust shop, landing in the street with a thud, followed by a girl in a short blue hanbok.

The other goons stared as the girl straightened up, turning to face them with a rapier in her hand. The silver eyed girl stared them down, headphones in hand. She pressed a button, and the blare of music stopped.

"Oooookay…" Alec gritted his teeth. Why did shit like this always happen to him? Part of him wished Ophelia was there to deal with it. Part of him was glad she wasn't so he wouldn't have to see her smug smirk. He sighed, and looked back at his goons. This girl couldn't have been more than what …seventeen? "Get her," he sighed, jerking his head at his men.

They obeyed, rushing out of the door of the shop. And getting dispatched with a few swift kicks, punches and weapon twirling. The girl returned to her opening stance, a smile making it's way across her face.

"You were worth every cent, truly you were…" Alec muttered to himself, looking down at the goons before heading out of the shop himself. "Well Blue," he said, looking the girl's outfit up and down before raising his cane, "I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening. And as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways." He pressed a button, and a small explosion shook the street as he sent a flaming blast at the girl.

When the smoke cleared, the Aislinn Seung found herself alone. Looking around, confused, she caught sight of the man climbing a series of rungs set into the side of a nearby building as a fire escape. Aislinn turned to look at the elderly shopkeeper, who was standing in the doorway of his ransacked store. "You okay if I go after him?"

The man nodded, and Aislinn began to chase after the man, waving a hand and using a glyph to launch herself into the air, landing on the roof just after him. "Hey!" she cried, raising her sword, but the man didn't turn around, merely muttering something rather rude under his breath.

Aislinn went to move towards him, but was forced to take a step back when she was hit with a gust of wind from the airship that suddenly rose into the air from the cover of another building. A bright light shone down on them, dazzling her as the man climbed into the ship, and turned to smirk at her.

"End of the line, Blue," he cried, throwing a glittering dust crystal down from the ship, which landed at Aislinn's feet. Aislinn stared at it for a moment, trying to work out what his plan was…

And then the man aimed a shot at the extremely explosive crystal.

Aislinn saw her life flash before his eyes, felt the heat of the explosion, but when she risked a peek, she realised that a) she was still very much alive, and b) a woman was standing in front of her, a riding crop outstretched in front of her that seemed to have created some kind of shield, protecting her from the blast. She had a short black bob, which was blowing in the breeze, and she was wearing a white blouse and a sensible black skirt, paired with very unsensible stilettos. The woman pushed her wire rimmed spectacles up her nose, appraising the situation, before flicking her crop and sending a volley of blasts at the ship, which rocked dangerously as it was hit.

Alec swayed, and darted into the cockpit. "We've got a Huntress!" he cried to his companion, who swiftly rose from her seat, heading over to the open side door of the craft.

Aislinn stared at her saviour as the woman twisted a mechanism on her weapon, and sent a blast of cold at the ship, shards of ice stabbing into its metal body. She felt like cheering, but didn't want to distract her. As she watched, however, another figure came to the ship door, a woman, whose face was obscured by shadow. All she could see was dark hair, a lithe body and her eyes glowing in the shadows…glowing an emerald green.

The woman in the ship flicked her wrist, and a bolt of lightning hurled towards them. The her saviour blocked it, like before, but underneath her a strange, golden…circle appeared. Just looking at it made Aislinn feel sick. Her savour glanced down, and waved her crop, sending Aislinn flying to the side, before gracefully leaping out the way herself, leaving Aislinn stunned. She waved her cane again, twisting the dial, and lightning shot from the end of it, showing that it was obviously powered by Dust. It wasn't enough, however. The woman in the ship waved another hand and a green shield deflected the electricity. Aislinn came to her senses, and raised her sword, flicking it and sending her own volley of Dust powered ice at the ship, but the woman simply raised a hand, deflecting it. How was she doing that? The woman raised her hands again, and more spinning circles appeared under Aislinn and the dark haired woman. Aislinn barely had time to react before the woman knocked into her, pushing her back across the roof and out of range as the circles exploded. When she looked up, she saw the ship flying off into the distance. Next to her, the black haired woman had climbed to her feet, and was brushing herself down. She gave Aislinn a glare, but she found that she didn't care.

"You…" she said, her voice trembling slightly, "You're a Huntress!"

The woman just raised a dark eyebrow.

"Can…" Aislinn stammered shyly, "Can I have your autograph?"

-O-

"I hope that you realise that your actions here tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady!"

Ailinn wilted in her chair as the huntress paced back and forth in front of her, her dark eyes narrowed.

"You put yourself and others in great danger," she continued, which made Aislinn jerk up indignantly.

"They attacked the shop, ma'am. I was simply defending it," she said, furrowing her brow. The Huntress continued as if she hadn't even spoken.

"If it were up to me you would be sent home…with a pat on the back…" Aislinn perked up slightly at that. Maybe she wasn't as mad as she'd seemed? The woman turned to him and her glare quashed that thought. "And a slap on the wrist!"

She smacked the table in front of her with her crop, and Aislinn jumped back, letting out a squeak.

"But…" the huntress sighed, looking world weary. "There is someone here who would like to meet you."

She moved aside, and Aislinn saw a brown skinned woman enter the room, her long black hair tied back into a pony tail. She was taller than her companion, and more muscular, but her brown eyes were kind.

"Aislinn Seung…" the new woman said, looking at her intently. "You…have silver eyes."

"Urrrr…" Aislinn didn't really know what to make of that statement, or the woman's intense gaze.

"So. Where did you did you learn to do all of that?" the woman continued, raising an eyebrow.

"Um. My mother taught me?" Aislinn said, now feeling very confused.

"You mother? Ah." The dark haired woman looked sad for a moment. "Of course. Minhae was a promising young huntress. We missed her terribly when she headed off to Atlas…of course, we miss her even more now."

Aislinn found that her eyes were suddenly fixated by the table.

"So, Miss Seung, what are you doing here in Vale? The Academy in Atlas is most prestigious."

"I know," she said, fidgeting slightly. "I just…wanted to feel closer to my mum. She trained here, after all. And once I explained, Aaron and Adonia – they're my guardians- they understood."

"I'm glad to hear it," the woman said. "But tell me, what is a young girl such as yourself doing at a school to train warriors?"

"I want to be a huntress," Aislinn replied, determination filling her voice.

"You want to slay monsters."

"Yes. You know my mum was a huntress. And she always taught me to help others, and I want to protect people. And my sister – adopted sister, but she's like a real sister- she's applying for Beacon this year, so I thought I would do it as well, and she wants to be a huntress too, and like I said I really want to help people, so why not dedicate my life to doing it? I mean, the police are alright, but Huntresses….well. I just feel it's how I'd do the most good." She trailed off, realising she'd been rambling.

"Do you know who I am?" the dark haired woman said, that pleasant smile still on her face.

Aislinn felt herself go red. She now felt like an idiot. "You're…you're Anandi Kapoor. Headmistress of Beacon. Um. Nice to meet you?"

"You want to come to my school?" Anandi said, tilting her head to the side.

"Well…yeah," Aislinn said, hoping she hadn't monumentally cocked everything up. The other woman was glowering with her arms folded.

"Well, okay!" Anandi said casually, and Aislinn felt her spirits soar.

-O-

"I can't believe my little cousins are going to Beacon with me!"

Steve gasped as Cillian hugged him and Cat around the neck for like the third time that day, the older boy squeezing the air out of him and ruffling his hair. He was pretty sure by now he was just doing it to embarrass him, and boy was it working.

"Please…stop…" he gasped, and Cillian finally acquiesced, aiding by Cat's kick to his ankle.

"Fine, fine…" he said, rolling his eyes. "But seriously you two. I'm proud of you. Just don't let it go to your heads."

Steve stuck his tongue out, and turned back to the TV that was on the main deck of the airship whilst Cat poked Cillian in the ribs, making him yelp and flip her hair over her face.

"…Nefarious criminal Alec Hunter still avoids capture," a presenter was saying. "If anyone has any clues to his where abouts, please contact the Vale police department. Back to you in the studio, Lisa."

"Thank you Tom. In other news, a Faunus civil rights protest turned dark when members of the terrorist group, The White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organisation has now disrupted…"

The news report was suddenly cut off as the image of a dark skinned huntress appeared on the screen.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon," she said, her face stern and her back upright. "My name is Amy Nagi. You are among a privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as our Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

The video vanished, leaving behind a view of Vale from above. Steve rushed over to press his nose up against the glass, whilst Cillian followed more sedately. Cat trailed after the two of them, and Steve frowned, noticing that her demeanour had suddenly changed; she looked anxious and worried. He opening his mouth the ask her about it, but was distracted by the view.

"Wow!" Steve exclaimed, staring out over the city, and across the river to where Beacon Academy sat. It looked amazing, the many windows of the twisting towers shining in the midday sun.

There was a retching sound, and he turned to see another boy running in the direction of the toilets, his face green. He and Cillian exclaimed glances, and he saw that his cousin's lips were twitching.

"Poor bloke," he managed to saw, letting out a snort. "I wonder what kind of people we're going to meet?"

"I hope they're better than vomit boy," Cillian muttered with a grin.

-O-

Steve didn't know how he ended up by himself, but somehow he and Cillian and Cat had got separated. He walked down the path towards Beacon anxiously, looking around to see if there was anyone else who looked new he could talk too. Was he supposed to go to the dorms? Did they have dorms? What was he doing? He raised his head to look up at the towering building of the school, turning around to take it all in. He stared in wonder until he smacked straight into someone, falling backwards and landing om something hard.

"What are you doing?!"

He seemed to have knocked a load of cases off of a trolley, as he was now surrounded by them. He looked for the source of the voice, and saw a back haired girl standing over him, her green eyes narrowed.

"Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?!" the girl cried, dusting herself down carefully, looking at him as is he was some kind of worm.

"Uhhh…" Steve felt himself flushing slightly staring at her. She was very pretty, with smooth skin, shiny black hair to her shoulders and a nice full figure to boot. He reached out and passed her one of the boxes, and she took it from him carefully, opening it to reveal glimmering bottles of Dust.

"This is mined and purified from the Kingley Dust quarries!" she exclaimed.

"Uuuuuh…what?" Steve said, still staring gormlessly at her.

"What are you, brain dead?" she said, unimpressed, removing one of the bottles and waving it in his face. He must have damaged the cap when he knocked the crate because the container was leaking a little. "You know, Dust? Fire, water, lighting…energy? Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Yup, that container was definitely leaking. He opened his mouth to tell her, but the Dust tickled his nose, and he let out an enormous sneeze…

There was a blast of flame, a swirl of ice, and when the smoke cleared, the girl with the green eyes was left covered in soot and looking like she was going to murder him. The glass container went flying, and hit the ground with a clink, rolling away across the pavement.

"Unbelievable!" His attention quickly snapped back to the girl in front of him. "This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

Oh shit. "I'm really…really sorry!" he said, wilting as she continued to glare at him.

"Uh, you complete dolt!" she exclaimed. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little clumsy to be attending Beacon?"

Steve felt himself flush. "Well I…uh…"

"This isn't a ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practise, you know; we're here to fight monsters, so…so watch where you're going!"

Steve gritted his teeth, her words hitting a little too close to the mark. "Hey, I said I was sorry, Princess," he snapped back, glaring at her.

"It's Heiress, actually," a familiar voice said from behind him. He turned and too his everlasting relief saw Cat, her red curls bouncing as she walked over to them, twirling the dropped bottle between her fingers. "Robyn Kingley, heiress to the Kingley Dust company. The largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

Robyn looked pleased. "Finally, a little recognition!"

"The same company," Cat continued, her eyes narrowing, "infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners."

Robyn looked thrown, and Steve had to suppress a snigger. "How…how dare…the nerve of…" she spluttered. She finally seemed to settle for snatching the bottle from Cat and turning away, her servants coming forwards to help pick up her bags as she stalked off.

"Sorry!" Steve called again as she headed off towards the school, her hair swishing. He guessed he wasn't the only one having a stressful first day. But hey, at least Cat was here now.

He turned to see her glaring after the girl something…unreadable in her blue eyes.

"Cat?" he said softly. She scared him slightly when she got like this. It normally seemed like she'd been by his side forever, like Cillian had. But sometimes, like now, when she got those dark moods and that expression in her eyes, a mix of anger and hurt, he'd remember.

"Come on," he said softly, taking her arm. "Let's go register."

-O-

The gardens of Beacon were beautiful. They were ringed by an aqueduct, which carried some of the water which spilled down the cliff which beacon rested on. Cat's mood seemed to have vanished as if it had never even been there, and she was goofing around and chatting away as usual, as they discussed different weapons, and the techniques to go with them. Silence eventually fell, however, as Steve's thoughts turned towards home.

"How do you think Dad's doing?" he said, glancing at her out of the corner of his yes to gauge her reaction.

Cat shrugged casually, not meeting his eyes. "I'm sure he's fine. He's got jobs to do, and Blaze to keep an eye on him."

Steve sighed. "You mean Blaze to come around and get drunk on the couch with him."

Cat was silent for a moment. "Do you think Mum'll be okay?"

"She'll be alright. I went up and weeded her headstone before I left, so it should be okay for a while. And I think Dad goes up there sometimes, not that he lets us see. Blaze goes to see her now and again as well."

Cat nodded. "Cool. Next we're home we can drop by."

He reached out and pulled her into a one armed hug. "I think she'd like that."

"Thanks fuckface."

Steve smirked, before looking around. "So, where we going?"

Cat stopped walking and stared at him in surprise. "Uh…I was just following you."

"Oh."

-O-

Finally, they managed to locate the lecture theatre, and there was Cillian, waving them over.

"How's your day been so far guys?" he asked when they reached him.

"You mean since you abandoned my ass and I exploded?" Steve said, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow. Meltdown already Steve?"

"No, I literally exploded hole in front of the school, and there was some fire, and I think some ice?"

"Are you being sarcastic?" Cillian said, raising his eyebrows.

"I wish!" Steve said vehemently, whilst Cat cackled in the background. "I tripped over this crabby girl's luggage, and she was super-hot but so angry and she yelled at me, and then I sneezed and exploded, and then she yelled again and it was really weird and I just wanted her to stop yelling!" he said, wondering why Cat was laughing so hard. The answer become apparent when a familiar voice cried: "YOU!"

Steve spun around, and came face to face with an irate Robyn. "It's happening again!" he cried, and jumped into Cat's arms. She caught him with ease; she'd been stronger than him ever since her Aura was unlocked.

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Robyn snapped, her hands on her hips.

"You actually exploded," Cillian said incredulously, staring between the two of them and shaking his head slowly. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey!" Steve said indignantly.

"Shhhh, it's alright, baby bro," Cat said, smirking. "I've got you."

"Hey! I'm ten minutes older than you!"

Robyn didn't even glance at Cat. She just shoved a leaflet into Cillian's hand.

Steve glanced over at the leaflet. Dust Usage For Dummies. Huh. "I'm sorry," he said again, looking up at her with puppy eyes. "Really. I'll make it up to you."

The girl sighed. "You really want to make it up to me?" Steve nodded eagerly. "Read the leaflet, and don't ever talk to me again."

She turned and swept off, not even bothering to glance back, leaving Steve staring after her, half irritated, half…well. She was pretty even when she was angry.

"Cat?"

"Yeah, loser?"

"You can put me down now."

-O-

They were all sleeping in the ballroom that night. Apparently they would only be assigned dorms after their initiation.

"It's like a biiiig sleepover!" Cat said, jumping on top of Steve.

"Cat you shit!" her brother exclaimed, examining the wonky line that now crossed his letter. "You jogged me!"

"Sorreeeeeeee!"

"I don't think my dad would approve of all the boys, Cat," Cillian said with a smirk from where he was lying next to Steve.

"I know I do," Cat said with a wink, her eyes scanning the half-dressed men around them. "Yum. Although I think he should be more worried about Steve and the ladies." She laughed, rolling off Steve and onto her own sleeping bag.

"What'cha writing anyway?" she asked, peering over Steve's shoulder.

"Letter to Dad. I promised I'd tell him all about it."

Cat felt her stomach twist. "Well…give him my love."

"Will do, Sis."

She perked up, seeing a dark skinned boy walk past. "Hellooooo good looking."

Cillian let out a snort. "Cat, don't tell me you think Vomit Boy is attractive."

"Vomit boy?"

"He was the one who barfed his guts out on the airship. And he got some on my shoe."

"Gross!"

"See?"

Steve meanwhile was staring across the room, and when Cat followed his gaze she saw a girl with a long black hair sitting and reading a book in a corner.

"Looks like Steve's found a target."

Cillian raised an eyebrow. "She's pretty. But looks like she wants to be left alone."

"That or she's lonely," Steve said, smirking. "Let's go and say hi."

Cillian looked like he'd rather eat pins. "I'm good," he said, rolling onto his back.

"Fine. Cat. Wing-man…ur…wing-woman me."

"Okay, baby bro! Let's get you laid!"

"On second thoughts…"

"Too late!

Cat smirked as her brother let out a yelp as she grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him over towards the girl.

"HALLOOOOOOO!"

The girl looked up from her book, staring at them for a moment.

"Nice to meet you!" Cat said, coming to a stop in front of her, letting go of a mortified Steve.

"Wait. Aren't you that guy that exploded this morning?" the girl said, looking Steve up and down.

Cat bit her lip and tried to not to burst out laughing as Steve valiantly rebounded. "Yeah, that's me! I make women explode all the time, if you know what I mean!"

What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Cat rolled her eyes and stepped on Steve's foot. Too much! What are you doing? She sent to him.

I DON'T KNOW HELP ME.

"Okay…" the girl said, her eyes flicking back to her book.

"So, what's your name?" Cat said, giving her a grin.

The girl let out what sounded like an irritated sigh, before replying "Aislinn."

"Well Aislinn, I'm Cat!" she said with a bright smile. "And this is my twin brother Steve!"

"I like your hair," Steve said, giving her a hopeful smile, gesturing the silver ribbon securing her ponytail.

"Thanks."

"it goes great with your…your pyjamas!"

"Riiiight…" the girl was fully focused on her book now, not even looking at them.

"Nice…nice night, don't you think?" Steve said.

"Yes. It's lovely," Aislinn replied. "Almost as lovely as this book."

Steve was still smiling hopefully.

"That I will…continue to read."

Steve was still smiling like an idiot. Cat wanted to facepalm.

"As soon as you leave," Aislinn finished, her eyes flicking back to the text.

Okay. Okay she's a lost cause. Cat sent to him, but Steve didn't seem to hear her.

"What's it about?"

Cat turned to stare at her brother, surprised.

"Huh?" the girl looked up at him sharply, and Cat saw that her eyes were a pure silver.

"Your book. What's it called?" Steve continued. Cat had never seen him look at anyone the way he was looking at the girl, that he had literally just met because she was reading some dumb book. Was that supposed to make her interesting?

"Urm…well, it's about a man with two souls. Each fighting for control over his body," Aislinn said, looking surprised.

"That's…lovely…" Cat contributed.

"I love books," Steve said, and Cat nearly laughed out loud. Steve never read! But what he said next made the laugh die in her throat. "My Mum…she used to read to me every night before bed when I was little. Stories of heroes and monsters…that kinda stuff."

"Is that why you want to be a hunter?" Aislinn asked, her eyes fixed on Steve's. For a moment it was like there was only the two of them and Cat felt her stomach swoop unpleasantly. "Looking to be a hero?"

"I just…kinda…well. She always said we should fight for what is right and protect people who couldn't protect themselves. So…that's what I wanted to do."

She was looking up from her book now. She smiled, and it lit up her face, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "That's very ambitious for a child." She hesitated. "My mum…she read to me too. When I was a child."

"Yeah well," Cat could feel something bitter building up inside her chest. "Unfortunately the real world isn't the same as a fairytale."

The girl –Aislinn- turned to her, her silver eyes boring into Cat's blue ones. "Well…" she shrugged. "That's why we're here. To make it better."

"I couldn't agree more." Steve was still staring at the girl as if someone had removed his brain.

"Well aren't you deep?" Cat said, forcing a smirk. She reached out on tiptoes and wrapped an arm around Steve's neck, ruffling his hair. "I never thought I'd see the day my bro got as deep as the fucking ocean."

"Cat, cut it out!" Steve snapped at her, trying to bat her hand away, but this just evolved into a full scale battle, with the two siblings struggling and tussling on the floor.

"Steve, Cat," Cat heard Aislinn say, as she wobbled on one foot as Steve tugged at her ankle. "It's a pleasure to meet-"

"WHAT in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realise that some of us are trying to sleep?"

Cat and Steve both turned and saw-

"Oh no, not you again!" Cat Steve and Robyn all found themselves crying unison.

"She's right," Steve said, looking a little scared. "I supposed people are trying to sleep…"

"Oh, now you're on my side?" Robyn said, rounding on Steve.

"I was always on your side," Steve protested, and Cat felt her eyes narrow again.

"Yeah, what's your problem with my brother?" she snapped, putting her hands on her hips and staring up at the girl. "He's only trying to be nice!"

"He's a hazard to my health!" Robyn snapped, before turning towards Aislinn. "Have they been bothering you?"

"What?" Aislinn said, looking between the three of them. "No, no, they were just saying hello."

Cat looked between the two girls, as Aislinn got to her feet and Robyn took her arm.

"Come on, Sis," Robyn said, and together the two of them turned and headed over to the other side of the hall and their sleeping bags.

Cat turned to look at Steve, who was staring after the two of them, before taking his arm and tugging him back towards Cillian. "Come on," she said. "Let's just get some sleep."

But even when Steve and Cillian were snoring beside her Cat's eyes stayed open, staring into the darkness in the direction that the two girls had gone in.