Alex looked over at the remote. It had been so long since she watched television that she had almost forgot how to use the remote. She would figure it out. She grabbed the remote, and began to flip through the channels and experiment with the buttons.

Azalie looked at Stucka and said, "I don't mind helping. I'll dry the dishes off." She got up, and walked over to the kitchen. She stopped beside Stucka and smiled.

        Stucka was pleasantly suprised to see Azalie standing next to him, agreeing to help. "Alright, thanks." He started to wash the first few, slightly annoyed in the process, his face clearly showing it. He placed it on a small towel that rested in front of Azalie where they were to be dried off before proceeding to wash the dishes.
        Stucka glanced over his shoulder, then looked at Azalie. "Where's Jake?" he slightly furrowed his eyebrows, a little shocked that he wasn't with her.

"Jack is outside. He tends to guard the entrances of wherever I go. If he wants in bad enough, he'll find a way through the door." Azalie began to dry off the dishes, glancing up at Stucka every once in a while. "So, do you have any clue of what Alex is. I mean, she could be a tiger spirit or something..."

Alex's head turned slightly at the mention of her name.

        Stucka sighed, stopping his hand as he hovered over the water, glancing at Azalie. "Everything points to one thing Azalie.......I think she's a shifter, like me...." he thought about it in his head, it had to be right, everything he noticed about her were so close to what he experienced, what he went through at such a young age.

        Stucka finally went back to washing the dishes, a little slower then before, looking down at the dishes once again. "I won't say for sure, but that's what it looks like."

Azalie sighed. "Well, she must be new at it or something. I'm still trying to figure out why she's wanted by the cops. The poor girl..." Azalie began drying the dishes off. "You know, lots of things have been going on... My brother... My brother... My brother once told me that things happen for a reason; that nothing happens out of coincidence." Tears stung the back of Azalie's eyes, but she didn't let them get past her eyelids. She sighed once more.

Alex turned the television off, and layed down on the couch. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she went into dreamland.

        Stucka washed a few more, seeing that he had barely any left, glancing at Azalie and slightly frowning, seeing and hearing that the subject wasn't easy to talk about. "Your brother sounds like a smart guy, it's true, things happen for a reason...." he turned the water off and slowly dropped the dishes in the sink, wiping his hands off. "Let's take a break, I have to admit, I am a little tired, and have to make sure Terror is alright."

         Stucka turned and leaned on the counter, getting a beer from the fridge and sipping it, making sure to only drink one, not caring if either girls wanted something to drink or eat, they could always help themselves.

Azalie sighed as Stucka grabbed a beer. She knew he wasn't twenty-one yet. After watching him for a while, Azalie finally finished drying the dishes off. She said, "Stucka, is there any way that I can repay you for letting me stay in your house?" She leaned back onto the counter, her eyes scanning his face.

        Stucka drank the rest of his beer, nearly forgetting that Azalie was right next to him, but he hoped she wouldn't tell, or mind. Her question though was hard to answer, of course he didn't want to say yes, he is the one who offered, but he had a chance to ask for something, not something he did occasionally.

        Clearing his throat, Stucka placed the empty bottle on the counter and turned to her. "Actually.....there might be one thing..." he turned to glance into the living room, seeing that Alex was sleeping. "...make sure you and her are safe, I don't want anything to happen to you......both. " Nearly wispering the last word, he went to go into the living room but paused at the kitchen entrance. "Hey, if you two want to stay the night, I have a guest bedroom, suit yourself it you wanna use it or not." Smirked at Azalie before going toward Alex and placing a extra blanket over her, going to his room to check up on Terror who was perched in his branch like nothing was going on. "Huh, I guess that huge tiger didn't scare you..... brave bird."

Alex shifted in her sleep into her tiger form. The couch creaked under her weight, but didn't break. She shuffled a bit, and let out a long sigh.

Azalie fixed herself a cup of water, and drank it down in less than ten seconds. She searched around for the guest bedroom, all the while considering Stucka's words. They made her feel all strange inside. Of course, Azalie had never crushed on anyone. She finally found the spare bedroom, and layed down.

After a while, she couldn't help it; she started crying. It started out as just a few tears, but it quickly escalated into a waterfall. She put her head into the pillow, and sobbed. She hoped that nobody heard, so she made herself hold it in. Her back shook with every breath she took between sobs. She hated lying to people, or at least not being able to tell them everything.

Azalie jumped at Stucka's voice. She wiped her eyes, but you could still tell that she had been crying due to her eyes being red. She turned around to face the door, hugging the pillow, and took in a deep breath before saying, "Yes. Come in." She clenched the pillow, trying not to cry even more.

Azalie sniffled. "No," she said. She sighed, and hugged the pillow before laying down. She didn't want to make eye contact with Stucka. She debated on leaving that night. The shadowkeepers would come after her again soon, anyway, and she didn't want Stucka to get hurt. She swallowed the lump in her throat.