Here We Go Again

Freak. Slut.
       Terrible mother.
           Terrible girlfriend.
          Former alcoholic.
    School ditch.
Un-Prefect.

They all were a description of her to someone’s eyes. Even if a graduation had passed, she still had high bets that someone was still there that knew who she was. Who wouldn’t? The teenage mother of a child she had left with the father without another word. The topic of so many “Gossip Girl” posts. Someone who had great control of their gift, gone to waste. Wasn’t that how it usually went? Those on the top fell the hardest. She would be no exception.

She would make her return to Beata for the semester. Living outside of the academy, the ability to use her gift had been very restricted. While her brother didn’t have a gift himself, he had been kind enough to shelter her. It seemed that he had been the one person she could rely on that she hadn’t hurt.

Her mind flitted to those at Beata. Jace, whom she had found out had graduated and now taught art. Kimply, who was somewhere. Dublin… Where had he gone? Then there were Aleta and Leo. It wouldn’t come of shock to her if Aleta wanted to pummel her to bits. Leo probably wouldn’t ever do so much as look at her the same way ever again. She had torn him to bits…

Shaking the negativity from her head, the tall pink-haired Autumn flipped up the hood of her hoodie. Beneath it, was the Autumn House uniform. Shockingly, her old uniform still fit. Sure, it had taken some time to get it to do so, but she had gotten there. Slung on her back was her classic black book-bag that had little crescent moons decorating the front, and in her arms was a black cat. Not exactly little anymore, but still kind of small. Soft, for sure.

”We’re back home, Night. Let’s see what all has changed…”

"Here to stir up trouble again?"

A voice seemed to practically appear behind Keirsta, it was monotone with a lingering feeling of threat. The question itself was rhetorical. Any time Keirsta was around would mean a rollercoaster of emotions for Leo. And being a sister--Aleta was going to try and protect her brother. He has been through enough already, and was already beginning to heal. Ripping the scab off and having Keirsta try and wiggle her way back into his life would make it tougher. It was already going to leave a scar. "You have hurt enough people already.'

Again, the voice was at the same tone. Aleta stood there with arms crossed and dark eyes that burned with anger. She had just come back from the Daycare where she had spent that last few hours playing with her nephew. The same baby that Keirsta sent away. Needless to say, Aleta was pissed.

"Here to stir up trouble again?"

She'd recognize that voice from anywhere. Spinning around, she nearly dropped the cat in her arms. Keeping her face covered from inside the hood, her grip tightened around Night. Whom, picked her head up in recognition. Keirsta's eyes narrowed slightly. She didn't have a clue about any of this. About why she made the decision to leave her son with Leo and step out of his life. But of course, the logic was there. She was Leo's sister. Any sibling would gladly fight for the other if they had been hurt.

So here that fight was.

Letting the cat down onto the ground beside her, a silent glare passed from one girl to the other for just a brief moment. "You don't have a clue..." she whispered. Keirsta had come back to Beata simply so she could graduate and join the Guardian program. The rumors of the People in Black pushing a larger threat against the academy right before her leave never left the back of her mind. She had a considerable amount of control over her gift, and it was still rather powerful considering its neglect. It could at least be of some use for protection.

She could see the anger blistering off of the fallen angel. "Whatever you have to say, just say it. Don't just stare at me with rage, Aleta." The normally cheerful voice was ice-cold. It was more of a threat than anything else.

Aleta didn't need to be told twice. "First off--What the fuck?" Cussing wasn't in her vocabulary in normal situations. That being said, this was not a normal situation. "You leave, after enduring the wrath of the students here, to...wherever. Leaving Leo to face the gossip himself, and keep wondering to himself what he did wrong!" The furious face of the girl turned a deep shade of red. "Then you have the audacity to just...send Shepard over as if he was an item to discard? You just waved away any responsibility from him and thrust it onto Leo. Being a single father is hard. He barely gets enough sleep to function in a day."

She took another step forward to where she was mere inches away from Keirsta. To those watching, the height difference would be laughable, a short girl trying to look threatening to another who was taller than her. Yet the situation was not as light in humor. "Hell, our parents moved to Rosebury to help support him. They left our home to deal with issues that you pushed aside." Her eyes stared back at Keirsta's face, trying to gauge her feelings. Not that she cared, but wanted her to feel terrible. "You appear one night, pushing your way back into their lives as if you've never left--then disappear again. Just as Leo was getting better, you   took his growth and stomped it to bits. Now you are back once again." Aleta's jaw set, and her nose scrunched up like she had tasted something bitter. "Now tell me, what the hell do you want?"

Keirsta didn't even flinch as the smaller girl threw knived words at her. Keirsta's hands crossed, her nails digging into her skin as she held back words. The fact that the Hermans had moved to Rosebury to support their son couldn't have been easy, and definitely didn't leave her in a good spot with them either. How could she be? As Aleta kept talking, she flipped down her hood. The blue eyes that had been hidden stared down the younger girl.

All the emotion that had been in Keirsta had left. Aleta's anger was something the Autumn knew she would have to face. Although, the misunderstanding of her sudden appearance made her flinch. It was time for her response. "Do you want to know why I showed up that night? It was because I could finally tell Leo what the hell happened. He was in a bad state so I left him with what I could. I didn't ask to force my way back in. I wanted to fill the missing pieces so he could at least have some closure. There was so much more to the story that Leo had no idea about, he deserved to know. I wasn't going to break him any more then I did then when I told him two of his daughters had died while his son survived! I wanted to be there for Shepard, but how was I supposed to raise him when I broke down in tears every time I looked at him because all I saw were my two daughters who I couldn't provide for? I wasn't strong enough. Even if I had stayed and raised him with Leo, I have sworn I only would have brought his strength down."

That broke her. Tears spilled from her sky-blue eyes, frustration and hurt being a flame behind them all. "I don't want anything. I won't ever ask for you guys to forgive me for leaving Leo and Shepard behind because I wasn't strong enough to handle it and because I pushed Leo away. If I'm to be involved in their lives, it will be their choice. Not mine. But otherwise, I'm here to focus on what I was originally going to do before I met Leo. Hone my gift so I can guard the gifted." She swiped at the tears brimming onto her cheeks with the back of her hand. "What would you rather me do, Aleta? Live at this school and pretend I don't exist and stay away from Leo, or reopen that wound and try to step back into their lives so Leo's not raising Shepard 100% on his ow? Because those are the options I'm seeing." Every single word she spoke packed any emotion contained in her.

Her face did not budge, it was a statue. Even despite of the existence of two nieces, her face did not waver. The two girl's dying made her heart hurt, yet she forced her face to stay still. Once Keirsta finished, her voice dropped low, and narrowed eyes. "Its no excuse to leave your only living child without a mother, is it?" The girl got on her tip toes, grabbed the front of Keirsta's shirt and brought her down to Aleta's level. "You would have had support here. Instead you decided to be selfish. Giving Shepard to Leo to take care of while you mourn was only for your own well being."

A snear crossed her face, and in a mocking voice Aleta continued. "I'm going to give all this responsibility away so I can get over this." She dropped the fake voice and let Keirsta go. "Now guess what? Since you've told Leo about them, he hasn't given Shepard away because he had to deal with his sadness. Instead, he treasured his son. Even then, it didn't mean forgetting about the his daughters. It meant taking care of what he had. Which is something you didn't do!" Aleta sent a fist toward Keirsta's face, an out stretch of her arm that had a surprising reach. The fist was stopped mere inches away from her face, a larger hand gripping the girl's wrist.

"That is enough, Aleta."

Keirsta gasped as she was suddenly brought to the girl's level. As much as she could have pulled away, she didn't. She simply shut her eyes and took the venom from the snake before her. She had given up. Any attempt at a defense the Lunar would put up was lost. "You're right. It was." Her voice was small. Nails once more dug into her palm as she opened her eyes to face the burning gaze of the wrathful sister.

The mocking voice caught her guiltily drifting gaze, and her breath slowly quickened. When she was let go she quickly straightened up, her nose still tipped cherry from the tears spilled. There was a wrinkle where Aleta had grasped her shirt on the otherwise perfect linen which she took to smoothing out. Fingers that anxiously twitched began silently playing with her long, pink hair as she heard how Leo took the news.

It meant taking care of what he had. Which is something you didn't do! She flinched.

As Aleta threw the punch, it took Keirsta a moment before on instinct, a pale blue barrier was thrown in front of her. Considering it was daytime, the act was still a bit draining. However, the new voice instantly shattered it. Keirsta's eyes widened in absolute shock, and she took several steps back. It was him. Of all people... No.

She shook her head, trying to clear the fog and confusion from her mind. Why did he stop her? Of all people... She was defeated. Meanwhile, the black cat that had been simply hovering nearby was quick to come over and rub on the new voice's leg. "L-Leo... Why..." Why did you stop her? It was the question she couldn't finish, she was frozen in place.

Aleta spun on her heel to face her brother. "It will never be enough." Her voice held a low growl, and both hands were gathered into fists. Out of either of them, Aleta could hold the greater grudge, and Leo--close to none. The girl's eyes looked over her brother, and landed on an object in his grasp. "My jacket...I left it in the daycare, didn't I?"

Blue eyes glanced down at his leg as Night began to greet him, a slight smile slipped onto his face before looking back at Aleta. "I wanted to catch up with you to make sure you got it." His voice was softer than usual, the bit of a smile slipped away to a sad look. He looked between the two girls and let out a sigh that almost hurt his lungs. "Fighting is never the answer." Unknowingly, he had answered Keirsta's unfinished question. His blue eyes landed on her with a confused look to them. "What are you doing back?"

Judging by Aleta's comment, Keirsta knew she would still have an angry angel on her back. Probably for quite awhile. She took a step closer, mainly to keep her eye on the cat who was oh-so insistent on giving a hello. Draping her hair over her shoulder, she kept her gaze down. The answer to her question was one that was near obvious, it was surprising her mind couldn't sort it out. She took time to study his face. Just as Aleta had said, it was obvious he wasn't getting as much sleep as he should be.

Her confusion went away when she saw Leo's gaze drift upon her. It was his turn for that emotion. Nothing but honesty could be what came out of her. A slightly somber look hid behind her eyes, and she couldn't hold her gaze on Leo's face. She spoke the recited line. "I'm here mostly to graduate and become a guardian." It had been said countless times, written on countless papers... It had been her goal. It still would be. It was obvious there was more to her words. "It's torture, having to hold back a gift." She spoke in a hushed tone, continuing to let her nails dig into her arms. It was her new habit.

There was a mere nod in response to hearing Keirsta's goals for coming back to Beata. He agreed that finishing high school and graduation was important. If Leo was completely honest, he was uncertain what he wanted to do for the future. At the moment he was preoccupied...Maybe Harmony wouldn't mind a full time worker? Or he could be both guardian and a daycare worker... The blond didn't give it much thought. "Okay."

Leo handed his sister her jacket, and took a few steps back. "I should start heading back." He gave them both a glance before turning on his heels and beginning his walk back. For the life of himself, Leo couldn't force a conversation. He was too tired to be angry and fight. He was too tired to try and figure out how he felt about seeing Keirsta back.

Half of him wanted to push her away, and keep her away to keep he and Shepard from being hurt once again. On the other hand, another half was glad she was back most likely to fill the role she had abandoned months ago. His two conflicting emotions made it hard to find a stance to take.

Passing back through the threshold between Rosebury and the school grounds, Leo sighed once more. A shaky hand ran through his hair, followed by a swift move into his pocket where he hid his hands from the a bitter cold wind that pushed through the mountain.

---

As soon as her brother was out of earshot, Aleta slipped her coat on all the while boring a dagger like gaze into the older student. "Mostly?" She questioned. It didn't seem while her brother picked up on it, but being a master of deceit, Aleta could pick up on the metaphorical asterisk next to Keirsta's words. "Elaborate."

Okay..? Well, it was certainly better then the attack she could've gotten about 'not being there for her son.' Although, considering how Aleta felt, it probably was better that she stayed quiet. She did have that pull to go see him, especially considering his father was right there. Shaking it from her head, Keirsta gave a polite bow towards Leo as he started his departure.

As Leo started to leave, she noticed Night wanting to follow. A sharp click of her tongue persuaded the cat from doing otherwise, whom quickly crossed back towards the two girls. She took to laying down nearby, just enough to where she could be seen and hopefully not scolded or stepped on.

When Aleta spoke again, her attention snapped back from her cat. Oh yeah... Aleta could pick about any hidden undertone. "If time permits, I hope to extend my hand in helping the daycare. Whether it be supplying items or taking night shifts." A slight bit of emphasis was put on the latter. After all, with Moonlight Physiology, her need to sleep had been slimmed down to none. "I won't ignore the fact that they exist. How much I am involved though, that's where time will tell."

Aleta was not moved. Her eyes still held a dangerous glow, and her fists tightened. "I am not as forgiving and kind as my brother. I will never overlook how much you have hurt them." With that, she snapped her head to the side, hair flowing out behind her. Aleta stomped away fire fueling her anger. The girl would eventually tell their parents who was back, and knowing her brother he wouldn't be the one to break the news. Mostly because he 'doesn't think it is a big deal'--or rather, he did not want to face conflict.