"Can't we just stop for today?" Ben complained.

Ariel sighed and closed her textbook. She had been tutoring Ben for two weeks, and she was beginning to understand why Peyton had been so temperamental. Every complaint Ben could think of, he named it; headache, broken fingers, sinus problems, even dysentery. If there was a method to get out of learning, he tried it.

The most popular ailment this week was an upset stomach. If it had been something he'd mentioned two weeks ago, she would have believed him. Now, however, she simply resisted the urge to roll her eyes and glared at him.

"I think you'll survive another twenty minutes of Tudor history." Frankly she didn't see how it was important for a ten year old boy to learn about a dead King with mental issues, but she knew she couldn't question what the government said he needed to learn.

Ben groaned, slamming his head down on his history book. "It's only twenty minutes! Please, Ariel. It won't matter if I miss that much."

"Yes it will. Now tell me about King Henry."

In a monotone drone, Ben started listing off all the facts she'd made him recite about Henry VIII. She ticked it off on her chart, writing little comments in the margins about his wording and general understanding.

It was sort of satisfying, to mark his work and note areas of improvement. She liked finding ways to help him understand the parts that he didn't know, and when he finally got it, it filled her with a sense of accomplishment.

Pat pat pat.

They both looked up to see rain starting to fall in a light drizzle. She saw the look of disappointment flit across Ben's face. He couldn't hide outside if it was raining, and she was beginning to learn all his favourite hiding places inside.

The weather had gradually cooled over the last couple of weeks, and rain was becoming a regular occurrence. Emily had stopped going outside, even just to sit on one of the chairs near the back door. Her paranoia of water had increased ten fold, to the point where she was walking around inside with a raincoat and gumboots on.

She chose that moment to walk past the library, looking completely miserable at the sound of the rain.

Ben frowned. "I don't know why she has to wear all that stuff inside. It's not like the rain is going to get inside the house."

"Leave her alone," Ariel said firmly. "Coming into Winter, she's probably scared of being caught unawares and I don't blame her. She might be a bit excessive, but your Dad is probably helping her with that."

"I guess. How's your treatment going?"

She knew this tactic. Distract the teacher with talk and hope she forgets to teach. Undeterred, she continued writing notes. "My treatment is fine, but it has been a bit difficult lately."

"Why?" He sounded concerned and she wondered if he truly was, or his acting skills were getting better.

"Because, this young boy I am teaching keeps making things difficult for me by running off and trying to get out of doing his school work."

From the corner of her eye, she saw him look away guiltily. She didn't like to use guilt as a ploy, especially on a young boy, but she was tired. Last night the moon had been full outside her window, and remembering that Oscar became human once a month, she'd waited up until three in the morning, only to discover that the moon wasn't completely full until tonight.

She'd seen him lounging on a window sill that morning and she swore the creature was staring at her smugly, as if he knew what she'd been doing.

The guilt worked, and she finished up the class a few minutes early, but not before piling him with homework for the weekend. His little face fell and she promised him that if he finished it all by next Wednesday, she would take him outside for a special work free class.

"Awesome!" He exclaimed. "You better not break your promise."

"Have I ever?" She snapped. Shooing him out, she twisted her body and stretched out on the couch. Automatically, her hand reached the small shoulder bag that had become a permanent fixture around her neck. She felt the smooth surface of the case her heart was in and immediately relaxed.

She understood Emily's need for excessive waterproof gear. A month ago she might have been like Ben, saying it was stupid and knowing her, she would have said it to her face. Now, she didn't question it. The shoulder bag she carried was like a safety blanket, just as the clothing Emily layered on was hers. Unless they were cured, those demons would never fully go away.

A sick feeling burrowed deep in the pit of Ariel's stomach at the thought of never being cured. She continuously told herself that it would happen, a cure would be found and even if it didn't, she would survive. She would find a way to live a normal life.

But every so often, that thought would trickle in through the comforting words she told herself and fear would settle in her mind, ready to play havoc and destroy the peace of mind she was constantly rebuilding.

Shaking her head, she turned on her side, facing the couch and curled into a ball, scrunching her eyes tight.

Think of something else, she told herself. She could only force the fear out if it was forgotten. She needed distraction.

As if on cue, something jumped onto her hip and her eyes flew open. Oscar purred loudly, staring at her with sleepy eyes. His claws started to knead into her hip and she sat up, knocking him onto the floor.

Meowing loudly, he quickly spun around and started cleaning his back.

"Sorry dude, but that's too weird." she muttered, awkwardly patting his head. "Bet you had a good laugh at me waiting last night. Don't even know why I did."

"Are you training to become a crazy cat lady?"

She started. Lucas had appeared in the doorway, a teasing smirk plastered on his face. She frowned. Was he finally going to start aggravating her again? They'd reached a mutual peace, in that they didn't speak to each other. Autumn had been pestering her to talk with him, but Ariel figured their new arrangement was working so why break it? Apparently Lucas had decided it was time to break the peace.

A bitter retort flew to her lips, but she stopped herself from speaking it. Falling from the stairs was still fresh in her mind, and she didn't want to start that cycle again.

"I'm not doing this," her voice sounded defeated in her ears and she hated herself for it. Taking the high road was not something she was used to, and it felt weak. She wanted to defend herself but she held strong. If the Doc were here he'd be damn proud of her.

She started to get up and Lucas stepped closer. "Wait!" he said hastily. She froze. He took another step forward. "I didn't mean to say it. I have a bad habit of saying stupid things in awkward situations – kind of how I ended up here."

She slowly sat back down, unsure of what was happening. It felt weird. He took a seat on the opposite couch and she felt her hackles raise, ready for an attack. She knew she looked like a deer in headlights, and Lucas looked much the same. Another awkward silence fell between them, and she didn't know what to do. It was obvious he wanted to say something; she could almost see the little cogs in his furry head slowly turning.

After another minute of silence passed, Ariel started to rise again, unable to bear it any longer.

"I'm sorry!" He blurted out and she fell back in surprise. Running a hand over his head, the small dark hairs stuck up on their ends. He growled in frustration. "God Autumn is a pain in the butt!"

A light bulb clicked in Ariel's head and she snorted. He looked at her warily. "She got to you too, huh?"

His eyes widened. "Well yeah, she's been nagging me for the last week to come and talk to you. I don't know what she expects to happen – all we do is fight when we talk."

"True," Ariel looked down at her bag and started playing the strap. "At least you had the balls to actually approach me. I just kept making excuses." Shooting off the chair, she started pacing. "Where does she get off though? Trying to play mediator between us. I mean some people just aren't born to get along and will always hate each other, so why question it? We had a good truce going, we weren't fighting – why try to fix it?"

"I don't hate you, Ariel."

Her feet came to a halt as her head whipped back to his. "What now?"

"I don't," he said honestly. "I know we always seem to push each other's buttons, and I know I said some things that I can never take back – but you're alright. You have a sharp tongue, as my mum would say, but your heart is in the right place."

He winced. "I didn't mean –"

"It's fine, I know what you meant." Her conscience was pounding through the stubborn wall in her mind and she forced the words out in a rush before she chickened out – "I don't hate you either. You always look out for the others and I know I always say stuff about you being a dog but I don't mean it. My brain just comes out with nasty stuff all the time out of habit. I have trouble reigning in my attitude but I'm working on it. And about Peyton –"

"Don't," his voice was soft, halting her flood of words. "You were right, my pride was just too hurt to think clearly. Even though I know now, that she didn't mean anything she ever said to me, it was still easy with Peyton, you know?" His words faltered. "It was easy to pretend I wasn't...like this."

"Pretending won't make the fur disappear, Lucas."

"I know!" He growled, but there was no barb behind his words; only desperation. "Pretending will get me nowhere, but she never looked at me like I was a monster – or if she did, I never saw it."

"Does anyone here treat you like a monster? Apart from me?"

"No, but I can see the fear in their eyes when I get angry. The small steps of retreat when I reach for something and my claws get close to them. It's only small to you, but each time it happens, it's like a kick in the gut. I hate it."

Ariel didn't know what to say. She was stunned that he'd shared so much. Looking closer, she could see the pain he tried to keep hidden behind his eyes. It was obvious he'd been holding onto those feelings for a long time. "Why have you never said anything before?"

He laughed darkly. "What, tell everyone not to be afraid of the beast? Like that would work."

"I'm not afraid of you." He glared at her and she quickly retracted. "I mean I was – more so at certain times than others, but that fear was usually my fault, because I pushed you." Walking closer, she hesitantly sat next to him. "Look, Lucas – I can't promise I won't ever flinch or step back from you – but I can promise you that I will try. I'm not the best at this whole touchy feely stuff, but being here has certainly made me more comfortable with it. If you ever want to talk about stuff, or vent something, I'll listen. I can't say I'll have answers for you, but I can at least help you get those bad feelings off your chest."

He gave her a weird look, and Ariel didn't blame him. Just saying those words had felt all kinds of wrong. She was using her own treatment advice on him. Thank god the Doc wasn't around.

"Are you as weirded out as I am right now?" He asked.

"Probably more," she muttered. "I didn't think I'd ever speak more than ten words to you again, to be honest."

"Same," he grinned. His large canine teeth were in her direct line of sight and she fought down the urge to shift away.

"Right, well, glad we hashed this out then." She said awkwardly.

"Yeah," he stood up and she felt a small wave of relief as the awkward blanket that had settled over them began to lighten. "Promise me something else?"

"What?" She asked warily. Wasn't one promise enough?

"Don't tell Autumn about this conversation. We'd never hear the end of it."

"For sure," Ariel stood up and held out her hand. He reached out slowly and she grabbed the large paw, careful to avoid the claws and gave it a good shake. "Who ever tells her will owe the other person a favor. Agreed?"

His hand enveloped her own. "Agreed."

Wake me up, before you go go...

Ariel quickly rolled her, searching for her phone and turned the alarm off. Blearily, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. It was just past midnight.

"What's going on?" Emily murmured from across the room.

"Nothing," Ariel whispered. "I just have to make a phone call back home."

Climbing out of bed, she crept out of the room as Emily drifted back to sleep. It had been true, she was planning on calling Lainie, for an annual catch up and to get her thoughts on the strange moment between her and Lucas that day. She also hoped to catch someone else up at that time.

Once downstairs, she made a beeline for the library and this time was not left disappointed.

"Hey."

Oscar jumped, his book falling to the floor. "Ariel? What the hell, why are you sneaking up on me?"

"Shouldn't you be able to hear me coming with your super cat senses or something?"

He looked at her, confused and she quickly changed the subject. "I knew tonight was the full moon and thought I'd come down and see if you wanted someone to talk to again."

"Ah!" His confusion cleared and he picked up his book, hiding his face. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I wanted to."

He stared at her over the top of the book. "Why?"

She got lost in his blue eyes and felt her cheeks turn red. "I-I don't know," she stammered. "I just did. So shut up about it."

Not waiting for a reply, she quickly took a seat on the couch opposite him. She hadn't even questioned herself why she wanted to see him again. She'd just seen the moon and remembered him.

"I'm sorry about your grandfather," he said softly, interrupting her thoughts. "I remember that happening."

Her chest ached and she rubbed it. "Thanks."

"Do you miss him?"

"Every day."

"What was he like?" Oscar asked.

Ariel started to tell him everything she could remember about her Grandfather. All the stories he had once told her about meeting her grandmother, his time in the war and the friends he had known. She told him about the favourite places they used to visit in Melbourne and how he had taught her to play checkers. The words poured out with no way of stopping. Oscar didn't interrupt, he listened patiently and not once did he look away bored, or as if he didn't care. Eventually the words dried up and she saw that she'd been talking for nearly two hours.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know why I told you all that."

"That's okay," he answered quietly. "Thank you for telling me. I feel like I know him myself now. I can't recall you ever talking about him so much with anyone else."

"I haven't," she admitted. "I've been trying not to because it still hurts and I'm scared."

"Why are you scared?"

Her hands immediately wrapped around the small case in her bag. "Because when he died, my heart cracked. I was scared that if I talked about him, it would make the crack bigger because it was so painful."

Alarmed, he stood up. "Did your heart crack more?"

"No," she shook her head. "I would have felt it like last time, I think. Last time it was unbearable, and the pain lasted for days." She laughed feebly. "I didn't even think of it when you asked me about him."

"It didn't hurt, while you were talking about him?" He sat on the other side of the couch.

"It did, but it wasn't a bad pain, if that makes sense? It was sad, but also happy. Talking about him like that – I felt really happy, remembering him."

Oscar still didn't appear convinced. "Maybe you should check it, just to make sure."

"No." A wall slid up around her mind. She couldn't look at it. She hadn't taken it out of the case since Amelia had given the new one to her. She couldn't bring herself to look at it. Just thinking of the crack crushed her spirits. If she looked at it again, held it again, she didn't know what she would do.

Seeing his concern, she quickly pasted a smile on her face. "I'll check it when I go to bed," she lied.

He nodded in understanding, probably thinking she didn't want to bring it out in front of him.

Her phone beeped and she saw she'd missed a message from Lainie. "Sorry," she said, "my friend is expecting me to call them..."

"That's alright, I think I might go for a walk outside."

"At night?" She exclaimed. "You're mad."

He grinned, standing up. "Thanks for coming down to talk with me. You didn't have to."

"I know," she replied again. Her stomach filled with butterflies as she continued. "I like talking to you though. It's...easy."

His cheeks turned crimson and he quickly said goodnight and left. She was trying to tell herself it wasn't cute that he blushed, as Lainie messaged her again, telling her to hurry her ass up.

The next morning, Ariel dragged herself out of bed for her appointment with the Doc. Lainie had kept her up until early that morning analyzing her conversations with both Lucas and Oscar. She truly believed that Lucas was offering her an olive branch and she should take it. Ariel still felt it was weird, but Lainie told her to suck it up and work with him.

She was excited by Oscar. When Ariel mentioned him blushing, she had nearly deafened her with her squeals of excitement. Ariel spent a good half an hour trying to change the subject while Lainie had tried to prep her for their next conversation in a month.

Autumn met her at the foot of the stairs. "Good morning."

"Morning," she muttered, wondering if she would have time for coffee before meeting the Doc.

Autumn seemed to read her mind. "There's coffee prepared in the kitchen. Also the Doc said to tell you that he had to reschedule your appointment to this afternoon. He's been called away on urgent business."

A series of loud, groaning noises emitted from Ariel's throat as she banged her head on the wall. To get coffee, or go back to bed?

"Uh, Ariel?" Autumn, touched her shoulder.

"I'm fine," she moaned. "I just can't decide what I want more – bed or coffee."

Laughter sounded to her right and instantly she was wide awake.

"That sounds like a rather difficult conundrum, Bella," Michael grinned from the stairs.

She tried to return the smile, but all she could muster was a nervous lip twitch. She didn't know what to do around Michael anymore. She wanted to believe he was a good person, but little niggles of doubt continued to plague her. The constant thought that he might have had something to do with mentally screwing Emily concerned her. So, not good at hiding her doubt, she'd taken to avoiding him where possible.

"I think coffee wins this round," she said stiffly, edging towards the kitchen. With Michael blocking her way upstairs, bed was now out of the question.

The sun was streaming through the kitchen window and she poured herself a large cup of coffee and rested against the sink, enjoying the suns rays. There was a low fog resting amongst the grass, morning dew hanging in heavy drops upon the flowers.

Movement caught her eye and she saw Zeke standing outside the shed. She frowned. He still gave her a creepy vibe. It wasn't as intense as it used to be, but she still didn't like him. She avoided all eye contact with him and when he was in her sessions with the Doc, she did her best to pretend he wasn't there.

Kestrel appeared from the other side of the house, returning from a morning run. Ariel watched as she approached Zeke, prodding him with a smirk on her face. Before she could begin to process what she was doing, Ariel was out the back door, coffee in hand and marching towards the shed.

Kestral saw her approaching and took a quick step away from Zeke. "Morning," she said airily. She motioned to Zeke, smirking. "He's finally lost it."

Ariel ignored her and looked at Zeke. He was staring blankly at the door to the shed, as if he'd come out here to do something and forgotten what it was on the way. His glasses were fogged up from the weather but she could see that his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like he'd had less sleep than her.

"You right, Zeke?" She asked. She waved her coffee under nose.

The aroma of caffeine appeared to startle him and he looked around. "What am I doing out here?"

"I don't know," Ariel said impatiently. Kestral was still hovering, her smirk driving Ariel's annoyance levels to high peak. "To get something out of the shed?"

"The shed?" He looked around again, confused. "Right, the shed, I must have come out here to get something..."

Muttering to himself, he stepped away from the two girls and entered the shed, closing the door behind him.

Kestrel laughed. "He's definitely gone mental. Spending all his time in that shed –"

"Leave him alone," Ariel snapped.

"Oh?" Kestral leered. "Have you finally found your heart?"

"I have," she replied sharply, "and you've lost yours by the looks of it. So much for your big speech about how I treated other unfairly. If you're going to throw those words around, you should at least follow them yourself."

Kestral's smirk vanished, her eyes flashing. "I don't need to follow them," she retorted. "I'm not the one with a heart in a handbag here. Anyway, I was only teasing him, it was a bit of fun."

"I think you'll find teasing and bullying often go hand in hand," Ariel said coldly.

Not waiting for an answer, she spun around and headed back for the house. Starting a catfight with Kestral was not how she wanted to start her day – neither was frostbite. She'd walked out of the house without thinking of putting her shoes on and her toes had gone numb.

Why she had suddenly leapt to Zeke's defense like that, she didn't know. Seeing Kestral near him had evoked some need to defend him. Walking through the house, she headed for the front dining room and the small fire that was burning brightly. She stepped before the flames, her toes beginning to sting gently as they thawed out.

Samson was reading the morning paper with Ben sitting at his side eating a bowl of cereal. Emily and Lucas entered from the kitchen with plates of toast and preserves and placed them on the table.

Emily's eyes zoned in on Ariel's feet and she took a step back. Ariel rolled her eyes. "Cool your brakes, Em. I'm not going to start flicking it all over you. I'll keep away until I'm dry."

She flushed. "I didn't think you would – I just – "

"I know," Ariel sighed, waving her hand. "Don't mind me. I haven't had enough coffee yet to activate my bitch filter."

Lucas snorted into his plate. Ariel's eyes drifted over him, waiting for a biting remark, but none came. She was surprised to find she was a little disappointed. Emily smiled and took a seat, choosing a seat furthest from Ariel's location.

Taking another large sip of coffee, Ariel drained her cup and went to get a refill. Upon entering the dining room once more, Autumn and Kestrel had arrived and filled up the empty chairs on Emily's side of the table. Not wanting to aggravate Emily with her still damp feet, she took the seat next to Lucas. Autumn's eyes honed in on both of them, and they both stared pointedly at the table.

Ben saved them from any investigative questioning. "It's so boring. Samson, can you tell us a story?"

"A story!" He ruffled the paper, folding it neatly on his lap. "I think I can certainly provide such entertainment, Benjamin. We should ask the others though if they wish to listen to an old man's words however. We wouldn't wish to disturb them from their morning absolutions."

"Their what?" Ben asked.

Everyone murmured that they didn't mind him telling a story. Kestral didn't say anything. She was rubbing her fingers together, as if trying to warm them.

"Well excellent!" He poured himself a fresh cup of tea. "What story would you like to hear, Benjamin?"

"The Charmer and the Changeling!" He burst eagerly.

A shadow passed over Samson's face, so briefly that many of them missed it. A look of sadness and longing filled his amber eyes as he looked deeply into his tea cup.

"You've heard that story before," Autumn said.

"I know but it's one of my favourites," Ben stated. "Ariel and Kestral haven't heard it – I don't think Lucas has either, have you?"

Lucas admitted that he hadn't and Ben crossed his arms in triumph. Samson smiled, his tongue flicking once and he patted Ben's head.

"How can I refuse when it is one of the young master's favourites?" Placing his cup down, he folded his fingers on his lap. "Where to begin?"

Hey guys, I was worried I wasn't going to get this chapter up, but I did it :) I still think it's a little rough, but this is the only time I can post it and I didn't want to leave you hanging again. Now I know it is left on a rather abrupt ending, however Samson's story will be in Ariel's next journal entry. I'm not sure if I will get to post it next week, since it is my birthday on Tuesday and I will be away for a few days. I will definitely work to posting it though! I hope you are all having a great weekend! <3