Rough Beginnings...(Matilda, Dristan, Teagan)

The cab ride is quiet, save Dristan's lullaby. The cabbie doesn't seem to mind as the city that never sleeps passes them by. Eventually they would get past Time Square, then Midtown, and finally close to the Hudson yards where the Eugene Apartments are. When the try to pay, the cabbie waves them off. "Misty took care of it. Have a nice night."

Dristan slowly got out of the cab with Matilda and quietly entered with Teagan into the building straight to the elevator and remained quiet still as they went up to the right floor. When the doors opened he follows Teagan to the door of her flat and walks in after she opened the door for him and Matilda. He paused for a moment in the main room as Teagan shut and locked the door behind them taking in what was all inside right now. Definitely a different style then his estate but he loved it honestly.

He turned now when she told him where to take Matilda and went to the room and after Teagan pulled back the sheets gently laid Matilda down and then removed the little girl's shoes and quietly placed them on the floor. Slowly he began to look the best he could for any injuries that he could see and ater looking could not find any as he gently tucked her in and squatted down next to the bed and gently stroked Matilda's hair for a few moments. Finally he slowly stood up and turned to the window in the room and opened the curtain slightly and looked outside looking for anything.

His eyes finally looking to Teagan now as he slowly walked over to her and whispered. "I will be in the main room watching from the window. You need to rest along with her." he turned now and headed to the main room and perched himself by one of the huge windows and watching everything below.

Dristan was silent at first when Teagan wrapped his arms around him and finally placed his hand on both her hands and took a breath. His dark eyes never leaving what he was seeing outside. "So your name is Pandora?" His whisper distant and definitely dark because of his darkness still be out in him. "There is a lot going through my mind right now Tea......Pandora." He corrected himself. He showed no anger but definitely his voice was dark and cold. "So the woman and the man that both called me the raven's knight are like you?" He asked and slowly stood up now and stepped away from her.

This was so much to take in on top of helping Matilda and getting her here safely. "What else do I not know...." He turned and locked those dark green eyes to her. "I mean I am told your real name is Pandora. I have seen things that I have never seen before.....I have been called the raven's knight......also heard that your wings are clipped because I am blind by the night?" He groaned in frustration and confusion as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I want to understand all of this. I want you to help me understand all of this because right now......I....I do not know..." There all of it was out in the open.

"Is this a game or is this all real?" he had to ask.

Teagan lowered her eyes from behind, trying to lace her fingers with his. WHen he spoke, her heart sank as he stood and pulled away from her and she dropped her hands to her side before wrapping them around her middle. She felt her insides were cold the way he spoke, and his actions towards her. She blinks a few times trying to focus her thoughts. She had never meant for any of this to happen this way.

"When I became a dream...It's like the dream became its own entity" She tried to explain. "I've always been.....Teagan" It was as though it was taking a lot of our her to speak so forward with him. "The dreamer side, is The box with hope inside, we are like one." She slipped a hand up to play with the bauble around her neck. "And they call you a knight, because my mystery is very protective, watchful of his light. It's not as if they were speaking untruths." She doesnt dare make a move to him. She shivers slightly. This was getting difficult. "Blind, means you cannot see the colors like we do. Your sight is different. I am trying to find a way to fix that, so you can see the colors as I do."

She sighes covering her face with her hands just briefly, trying to fight back tears that threatned to fall. "This was never a game my knight, never wanted all of these noises to come out at once..." Her words are lost as she leans back against the arm of one of the couches, her features slightly paler then normal from exhaustion. "I..." She simply cant form her words at the moment.

((Yep. Used a lot of that WP for that one... Man. thats tough!))

Before Dristan has chance to even start to process all the information that was thrown at him the screams from the bedroom caused him to run immediately to the room like a man possessed and cutting on the light and seeing Matilda right against the wall screaming and crying uncontrollably. "Little one you are safe. Listen to my voice. You are safe and no one will harm you. Teagan is here...." Dristan called to Matilda in a very slow and calming voice not cold or dark and even his eyes because of the little girl when back to being a mix.

Slowly he kept approaching with his hand and arm extended. "Little one I am near you and slowly walking to you. You are not in danger. We will not hurt you and you are safe." He slowly and calmly repeated over and over again to Matilda and hopefully the little girl could hear his voice at the moment. He had to find a way to calm her down.

She saw the man, the man made her scream and cry out even more "NO DON'T HURT ME!!" She couldn't think clearly, she saw a woman behind him, a woman though her water filled eyes she heard Champion, Little Champion. "Ms T?" She gripped her with death like arms and cried even longer into her hold. "They...they ." She was crying and talking all at once. "It....They....Blood.....Bodies....." She couldn't bring out full words, she couldn't control herself, she just buried her head into Ms.T's neck and tried to will everything away. She wanted it all to go away. To go back to when she first met her. When everything was normal. "Who....man?" She mumbled out between her sobs.

Teagan wrapped her arms around the girl pulling her in close. "I'm here" She whispers. She looks to Dristan then back to Matilda. "A friend. My Knight In Darkness" She tried to smile to him. "You're safe, safe in my castle" She tried her best to get Matilda to calm down as she sat there on the floor with the girl.

Dristan slowly walks over now after hearing everything and squats down next to Teagan and Matilda. "You will stay with us little one. We will not let you go we promise." Whispering calmly and sincerely to the little girl. Dristan looked at Teagan and sighed. "She witnessed all of that." He whispered and stood back up now and walked over to the window in the room and looked out the window again watching the street. He haeard fluttering and an owl appeared right next to Dristan and Dristan accepted the letter as the bird nuzzled Dristan waiting.

"Teagan a package will arrive tomorrow morning @ 8 a.m." Dristan spoke to Teagan. "What response do you wish me to give?"

Matilda's cries turned to sniffles as she curled more into Teagan, her body becoming like dead weight as she lost all the energy in her body. She didn't have the strength to keep crying, a quiet somber silence washed over her. She looked around listening to the man that was near. She saw the bird, she loved birds. She watched him nuzzle the bird. Maybe he was okay? She didn't know to be honest but he was with Ms T and she was the only safe soul that Matilda knew. She laid her head back into the woman as her body could no longer stand to fight the sudden exhaustion coming over her but she was terrified of falling asleep so the girl fought with what strength she could to keep from dosing back out and returning to the nightmares that haunted her only minutes before. "I...I..." She didn't know what to say, she couldn't really form rationale thoughts at that moment. She just wanted to say thank you to the only person in the world who knew she existed...at some point in the future she would probably come back to ask why and how Ms T knew what was wrong. How she ended up here. But again that was another day when her mind would think better.

Teagan held onto Matilda as Dristan picked them both up, and carried them to the master bedroom and set them on the bed. She watches Dristan remove her shoes and place them on the floor and sits on the bed beside them.. She leans into Dristan, just as Matilda leaned into her and looks up at him. She was happen to see they were at least mixed and balanced again... at least she hoped. She looked down at Matilda watching as she tried to fall asleep. She listened to him singing, loving his voice. She was trying hard not to fall asleep. She wanted to talk to Dristan, To work it all out so there was no more confusion.

"Please do not know leave us my knight" SHe asked, looking up at him, her voice almost pleading that he stay. "I want to know your thoughts, About everything..." She says softly after he had finished his singing.

As Dristan sang he looked at Teagan and her words slammed into his heart and he leaned down and lovingly kissed her and nodded to let her know he would stay. As he leaned up he felt Matilda take his hand tightly and he looked down at the little hand in his and his eyes returned to Teagan's and oh was there a daddy look on his face and in his eyes. He waited for a few to make sure that Matilda was asleep and looked to Teagan again. "I believe everything that you told me. I am still unsure to call you Teagan or Pandora honestly."

He was silent for a moment and continued. "So you see the world very different then I do as you have told me and I can not see it like you because you have to find a way for me to see the world as you do." He whispered as he adjusted now to where he was laying on the bed with both of them now.

"And what I am gathering is that you wanted to tell me just not like this. I am so sorry how I reacted. My darkness was out and everything that happened and now.....knowing some of your world it is a lot to process but know that I am not going anywhere. You are not going to lose me. I love you too much." he whispered gazing into Teagan's eyes. Though once in a while he would look to Matilda and the fatherly look kept showing over and over.

"I love Teagan.....and to me Teagan is both of you." Dristan whispered. "I never realized there were so many what do you call them....dreamers. If I need to see the colors as you do then I will accept the gift. And you are right that you and I spoke of never having secrets between each other." Dristan gently squeezed Teagan's hand at the next part she spoke to him.

"I could never resent you. Like I said everything just got thrown at me all at once and I needed time to think." Dristan drew them both closer to him and then she spoke about a possible future and he looked down at Matilda.

"Are you saying we could adopt her?"

Dristan shifted just a bit and caressed Teagan's cheek and listened intently. "Right builders, protectors, feathers, darkness and such." He yawned a bit. "I will always be here to keep you and her safe now that I have started to grow attached to her." Smiling and looking at Matilda. "After all of this it is very evident that she has latched on to you and I well more you then me but....." Drsitan was silent thinking about his thoughts.

"If that is what my falling star wishes then her darkness will agree to adopting the mini." His eyes and his words were truthful and very serious.

Dristan smiles at her comment. "Forever and always Teagan." Whispering lovingly. "Little Champion." He smiled gazing down at the little girl they saved and looked to see Matilda still had a very tight grip on his hand. In his mind no child should ever be alone ever and it seemed to him that during all of this he started to grow very fond of the little girl.

"I am hoping it will be easy. The farther away we can get her and with the wards of our castle she will be protected from what she described to us. No child should ever have to go through what she said she saw." What could possibly be after Matilda and the others as Teagan spoke to him about. Hopefully they could get back to London very soon.