At the beginning of the summer, when his aunt finally let Claude bring Trinity in the house to sleep, he had made a bed for her. He placed it next to the head of his own bed, on the floor. He had discovered however, that Trinity could sleep practically anywhere around the house. She found the most compact, uncomfortable, hard surfaces to lie on and still was able to fall right to sleep. She rarely slept in his room during the day. She would rarely even touch her own bed, let alone his. When Claude would find her in the most intricate of spaces around the house, he would laugh lightly and wonder with great interest on how she could possibly be comfortable.

Claude never took offense to Trinity refusing to sleep on his bed, or sleep in the bed he made for her. Audrey had told Claude it was probably because Trinity was so used to being outside. Chances were, she had to improvise her sleeping arrangements from one night to the next.

Old habits are hard to break. She would tell him with a smile and that killed any possible lingering of disappointments from Claude. But he had no ill thought about her habits. He had always shown respect for Trinity for her complete independence and cleverness. It was almost as if Claude saw Trinity as the reflection of a self he wished to be, in a life he wished to live. Trinity was that deep depiction of freedom that he longed for and could never attain.

To be able to escape the hurt, to find a safe haven was only a fairy tale in his life. Even though he did feel safe at his aunt's house, there was always that looming fear. It hung heavy in the backs of both Audrey and Claude's mind. A lot of that fear, Audrey noticed, went away when Trinity came along. She was more than a symbol, she was the embodiment of that much needed contentment. She was always near him when things went wrong.

…And right now, everything was wrong.

After the earlier bout of supplication through tears, Claude reluctantly went to bed. Audrey knew he was trying to prolong the next few nights as long as he could. But the mornings light still came no matter how long Claude tried to fight sleep. He was trying to keep hold of the good memories that the end of the summer stole from him every time. It happened every year, but these moments never lost their intensity. In fact, they seemed to get worse as Claude got older. Audrey wondered when that would change. Where sorrow and fear turned into bitterness. Then, bitterness inevitably turns into numbness and apathy.

She was well aware of those changes herself in the past. Even after she was miles away from her brother. At that point, it wasn't the initial actions of her brother that made her spirit die. It was the question on why god would put her in that situation at all, why would god allow such viciousness? She finally came to the conclusion that whatever god her brother answered to, was not the one she sought out. That was one of many thing that did bring her back. Even though it took years for her to start feeling again, she did recover.

The mending came from support by family members that have long since passed away. Family that shared her loving devotion to a god that protected the most vulnerable, never exploiting them. Audrey believed she was the last remaining, decent Frollo in the family. That thought wasn't exactly excluding her nephew, but if she was unable to be there full time for him, Claude's end would most likely be different. But it never changed on how the beginning started.

If you don't feel anything, the pain will go away. Stop feeling…stop feeling…stop reacting...just stop...

She wondered if he had already started that chant himself. She probably would never hear it actually come from his lips. But that's not how it revealed itself anyway. How it revealed itself was far worse.

Just then, Audrey spotted Trinity as the little feline trotted silently past the kitchen walkway. It looked like she was headed towards Claude's room. He had only went to bed about thirty minutes ago. Audrey doubted he was asleep already. Although, his crying jag earlier had to have taken a toll on him. It wasn't impossible that he might have just warn himself out and cried himself to sleep.

That thought made her heart even heavier.

Audrey's curiousness eventually won over as she got up from her place at the kitchen table and made her way to the kitchen archway. She turned to her right to look down the hallway and caught only a glimpse of Trinity's tail as it disappeared into Claude's room at the far right end of the hallway. Audrey crept on the pads of her feet until she reached the entrance of his room and just in time to witness Trinity heading to the little round bed Claude had made her. It directly aligned with the doorway Audrey now stood in. Audrey watched with a held breath as Trinity slinked onto the middle of her bed. She spun herself around lazily to find a nice spot and kneaded the linen like she was preparing a lump of dough. Finally, she curled up in the center and Audrey smiled weakly through fresh tears at the sight. She sniffed softly and wiped a tear away quickly with a swipe of her index finger and her gaze went to Claude's form on the bed.

Audrey kept her eyes on him for a long while, when Claude jerked in his bed slightly. She gave an inquisitive look and wondered if he was in fact awake. She craned her neck a bit and squinted her eyes to try to see his head, but he was facing the wall and his head was concealed by the shadows of his many blankets.

Audrey's attention turned to Trinity at once, when Audrey sensed movement of the cat's head in her periphery. Trinity looked to the bed's high edge with a look of intense seriousness. It reminded Audrey of a first time mother listening in on her sleeping infant from another room.

Audrey studied the cat a bit more as Claude involuntarily jolted once more and this time it was with more force. It was followed by a sharp intake of breath that could be heard entering through his teeth. The sound didn't seem like he was in any pain. It sounded more like someone startled him. At first, Audrey thought he might had sensed her being there or saw her figure in the doorway and reacted, but his breathing quickly regulated once more exhibiting sleep. Audrey calmed until an audible sob was heard and Audrey started towards her nephew in a worried jolt, until Trinity stopped her in her tracks.

She watched as the cat fixed her trained, large green nocturnal eyes on Claude's bed. Trinity rose to her feet with grace and balance as Audrey watched her with fascination. She didn't even think the tabby blinked once as her body moved smoothly like oil when she rose. She watched impressed as every muscle could be seen working under her striped and spotted pelt to come to a standing position. Claude let out another sob and without any hesitation or trip of her feet, Trinity vaulted onto his bed in a clean, precise cut through the darkness. She rounded Claude at his feet and nestled herself between his stomach and the wall. He was in a fetal position, so the little cat fit perfectly in the small space.

Trinity's rhythmic purring began as she looked up at Audrey. Their eyes locked in an unheard communication that Audrey couldn't put her finger on. Audrey was always surprised on how anthropomorphic her eyes were. But it wasn't just her eyes. It was her presence as a whole.

"You are definitely an enigma." Audrey whispered.

Trinity slowly blinked her deep emeralds at Audrey and then broke the invisible thread linking the neither verse from Audrey's reality to focus on the sleeping boy beside her.

That brought Audrey's attentions to Claude the last time that night as well. This was the first time he hadn't awakened from some tormented dream. Or awakened screaming, covered in a cold sweat and eyes filled with tears.

Audrey reached for his dark hair and ran her fingers through sweetly. She bent down and kissed his temple tenderly. She took the covers that he had flung off in his sleep and tucked him in securely. Taking care not to burrow Trinity in the sea of blankets. Just before Audrey rose, she addressed Trinity once more quietly.

"Please protect him and look after him. He needs you more than ever right now." She gave a sad smile, turned and walked out of the room.