One of her earliest memories with the Terriers was visiting Courage. The other was being in the library. This memory, however, seemed to stay clear and alive since Courage's house rarely changed. The old windmill turned slowly as if giving a sort of lazy wave. The second step to the porch had a bit missing of the edge and the porch still creaked with the slightest pressure. The door looked tired, but stood sturdy, giving a glimpse inside from the screen. The windows on either side still had their flower pattern curtains although faded from the sun.

Saoirse always suspected that the house remained the same because of the humans Courage owned. There was Muriel, an older woman, who fretted about cooking and cleaning. She was from an age where one did not waste what they had until it was unfixable, until it had evaporated practically. As a result, along with the concern of money, she never insisted on 'fixing up' the place.

Anything that was fixable, on the other hand, Eustace would work on. He was Muriel's husband and, as far back as Saoirse could recall, was as sour as Muriel was sweet. It was amazing that they remained together and, more so, that Courage kept Eustace. The grumpy old man was always grumbling and frightening Courage.

Admittedly, it wasn't terribly difficult to frighten the young lad. Even their unexpected appearance, she felt, would frighten him – and that was before he saw Katz. Courage was a little older than Saoirse, though not by much. From Saoirse's understanding through bits and pieces she overheard from her owners, Courage's story was an interesting one.

From a young age, Courage's parents disappeared. It had never been stated or officially answered as to why or where, but in the meantime, it was Eustace and Muriel – a much younger version of the pair – that took care of their owners' son. After a certain amount of time, the law, for the sake of inheritance and survival, declared them legally dead. It wasn't that they knew them to be dead or even that they had found bodies. In the benefit of inheritance, however, they were declared as such and Courage, being no more than a teen at the time, got a large sum of money, as well as the legal deed to the house.

This house.

Perhaps that was another reason why Courage never updated a whole lot. This house was his home, frozen from the point where his parents had gone missing so many years ago. Nevertheless, even if it wasn't, money was definitely part of the issue. The large sum had been spent over the past several years on living expenses.

Courage had a job – he wrote short stories – while Muriel and Eustace often bartered their services – or Muriel's famous candied apples – for goods. Still, the trio sat in the middle of nowhere and minded their own business. Outside of the Terriers, they did not seem to have many friends. That was alright with them, however. So when Saoirse knocked on the door, keenly aware of Katz behind her, she felt a bit sorry for disturbing their slice of paradise here.

There was a pause before the door opened, revealing a confused, but pleasantly surprised Muriel once she recognized the face. Same ol' Muriel, the human girl thought, except her collar seemed a bit worn. "Saoirse! How are you, dear? Come in, come in! It's awfully muddy out there, isn't it?"

It took all of Saoirse's nerve not to fly into Muriel's arms and cry. The gentle voice and accent reminded her a bit of Sheila. "Muriel, good…uh, afternoon? And yes, it is. It was a relief to have not been stuck." She walked in hesitantly, waiting for Muriel's reaction to the stranger.

After all, the young, cold man with crimson slicked back hair, purple/red sweater, sharp ears, and tail was not how the Terriers looked. Saoirse looked over the room briefly. Yup, same old rocking chair, stuffed chair, couch, TV, and rug. In the stuffed chair was Eustace – or at least, who she assumed to be Eustace behind 'Nowhere News'. She wondered where Courage was.

"And who might you be?" Muriel asked pleasantly.

"Katz." The man surprised Saoirse by even introducing himself politely to the old woman. She half-expected a sneer.

"He's…visiting." Saoirse supplied weakly.

"That's nice." Muriel glanced outside, confused. "Where are Sheila and Oliver?"

Saoirse felt her shoulders become quite heavy. She wasn't sure how to answer that, truth be told. It was one thing to think it, but quite another to reveal it. Luckily, or not, for her, Katz spoke for her. "That is why we are here. If you could get the…dog…of the house, we shall be out of your hair quickly." Ah, there was that sneer that Saoirse had expected. 'Dog'.

Muriel shut the door with a slight frown. "Of course. I'll go get Courage and start to make some tea. Make yourselves at home, dears." With a serene smile, she walked upstairs.

Saoirse went to the couch and sat on the edge, pausing to greet the man in the chair. "Hello Eustace."

The old man grumbled something that she doubted had anything to do with her. He shifted the page and she caught sight of his collar, the tag a bit tarnished. She wasn't surprised at the lack of acknowledgement, it no longer bothered her. When she sat, she saw that Katz was still standing near the door, arms crossed, fingers digging into his palm, and a scowl on his face. It was almost amusing.

There were footsteps and muffled voices above. She couldn't resist. "He won't bite, you know." Katz shot her a cold glare.

Before he could do more than that, however, the footsteps came down the stairs. She stood, although she wasn't sure why, and felt a sense of overwhelming relief at seeing Courage – as if he would fix everything, like in his stories. The dog wasn't much older than her, but his hair was a lavender-sort of purple, his eyes wide and always looking around in concern, weariness. His ears were thin, long, and currently pressed down. He didn't look his age, not his face at least; he looked to be fifteen more so than twenty-something. His frame was thin but not frail. It was amazing, Saoirse thought briefly, how similar the animals and humans looked – minus the tails and ears of course.

The thought left her as soon as Courage spotted her. His demeanor changed, his smile wide and his ears perked. "Saoirse!" He called out in pleasant surprise as Muriel went to the kitchen. He walked across the room, ignoring Eustace in his own world, and hugged Saoirse.

Tears stung her eyes without warning, the physical comfort and touch almost too much. Once when they were younger during a particularly bad storm, Eustace had left his mask 'on accident' where Courage might stumble upon it in the shadows – Muriel had left a mark on her husband for that. As a result, Courage was horrified, terrified of everything that moved that night. Given the severity of the storm, the Terriers – who knew Courage from his parents long ago and often checked in on the trio – and Saoirse were stuck waiting for the storm to die.

Sympathetic to Courage, Saoirse had found him hiding under his bed. She joined him with a bit of noise first – it wouldn't do to have a knot on his head from hitting the bed – and told stories. They weren't scary, but they were fairytales. They were the ones that always had happy endings, the very ones she had learned to read with years before. They worked, they had soothed Courage that night. Since then, as well as the semi-closeness in their age, he was always fond of Saoirse. In fact, they often made shadows, stories, and played games together when they were younger.

She blinked back the tears quickly though she knew that Katz had caught it. Hugging him in return, she smiled weakly. "Courage." She mumbled, wishing to hit a Pause button. When that option didn't present itself, however, and they parted, she cleared her throat. "Courage, I…" she hesitated. No, she didn't want him to meet Katz, but it was needed. Still, how to introduce without the proper polite intro?

The purple dog had followed her eyes though and immediately became on guard at the sight of the crimson cat. "This is Katz." Saoirse managed to spit out with a hint of resentment. She didn't bother to try and correct her tone either. "Courage, we need to talk."