A Match Into Water - Ash

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

Jisa sat on the floor, her legs crossed under her. The sun had risen that morning, just as cheerful and bright as any other day, but something had changed. Jisa couldn’t dredge up the energy to paste on her tough exterior, her armour long enough to fool anyone. All of the lying and double living was wearing on her nerves, grinding her down to her very core. Ash and Anya didn’t know, couldn’t ever know that she worked for the EF. Their ignorance, and her sacrifice, was the only thing keeping them safe and Jisa a semblance of sane. Or that’s what she kept telling herself.

It wasn’t the fact that they’d look at her like they didn’t even know her. With disgust, maybe fear, hatred. It would kill her. It would tear the last piece of Jisa that was alive and shred it, laying it to rest next to the ghosts of her past. Nothing would survive the fall out of that betrayal.

Or maybe even that wasn’t it. Even if they accepted her, Jisa would have to accept that she was doing this. That she was hunting her own kind, the kind she had hunted for three years, that she had hated since she was fourteen. Maybe somewhere in there, she still did.

It was the doubt that was burning her insides. She didn’t know anything anymore. Nothing for certain. There were no witty comments, sage advice or devil-may-care grins that could convince her otherwise.

Against the bright beginnings of a new day, Jisa had drawn the blinds and blacked out the living room, sitting in dead silence in a world where she could not see anything. She could not see ahead or behind and there was nothing pressing in on her. Her breath didn’t catch in her throat or claw out of her chest. Her hands didn’t shake and her eyesight didn’t blur. There was no panic because there was nothing.

Or was it something more? Jisa stifled a noise of despair, of rising frustration. The memories surged forth unbidden; of blindness and sickness and helplessness. Of desolation and loss of hope and loss of love and I’m never going to make it out of here alive…

And maybe I don’t want to.

It was all of the things that she refused to think about and it was shaking her muscles under her skin and tearing at her composure. But Anya wasn’t in and neither was Ash, so she had time. There was still time to pull herself together. Neither would be back soon.

As if.

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

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[RacingBelle]

Ashleigh

~This is my brand new day in the light, troubles rising up on the left and the right. I keep my eyes fixed on where I want to go; the rest will follow.~

I limped down the sidewalk, trying in vain the whole time not to limp. For once this injury had no relation to the Elite Forces. This time it was my own fault. I should jumped that tree higher. I thought angrily. My brow furrowed and my eyes darkened at the thought of that stupid tree in Stonewick Forest.

I took a deep, calming breathe and let the slight breeze wash away my anger. There was no use dwelling on what happened. It was an accident that I learned my lesson from. Besides, the morning sky was nearly clear of clouds and the sun was bright and when the sun went down, if the sky stayed as it was, then the night, with its moon and stars, would be just as bright and beautiful. Far too good of a day to spend angry.

Jisa's large house at the end of the street, surrounded by its high walls, soon came into view. I sighed and my lips twitched into a small smile. I wondered what Jisa would think, before I actually told her the story. After all, I did have a reputation for provoking the EF. I walked, well limped, to the door. I didn't bother knocking on the door before I walked in and promptly shut it, Jisa would know it was me. I wasn't the quietest person at the moment and besides she could smell my scent even if she didn't hear me first.

Anya wasn't home, and hadn't been for a while, but Jisa's familiar scent was still in the air and it was strong. I tilted my head slightly to listen for her. Something wasn't right. I could feel the wrongness about me like it was trying to smother me in a blanket. I wandered to the living room where the blinds were drawn tightly. There sitting in the dark living room shut off to the rest of the world and looking as if the world was falling apart around her, was the black panther shifter.

"Jisa?" I said softly.

~The old can be made new, the lost can be found, the lost will be found.~

(Inspired by Jisa! Lyrics from Superchick's Pure.)

[{J I S A}]

You’re Gonna Wish You
N e v e r h a d m e t M e

Breathe, breathe, breathebreathebreathe…

Smothering darkness clogged her airways and constricted her chest. Her hands curled inwards on themselves resting on her knees. Dammit Her nails were dangerously close to breaking the skin, splitting it and spilling tiny little droplets of angry red blood on her skin. The restraint that held her back only bound the beast within her, fighting it with every shred of dignity and sanity she had left. She was not blind. She was not helpless or dying or desperate or so terribly alone that her heart threatened to break and swallow her whole.

Stop. Stopstopstopstop…

She mentally lunged for the cover of safety to pull over her like a blanket but it was so worn that it disintegrated in her grasp and she should be listening and keeping her senses open but she could do neither of those things-

The door creaked as it swung open and it was like Jisa had been doused in a bucket of ice water. Her panic receded like the tide before a tsunami, disappearing and taking everything with it. She was hyper-aware of everything around her. The hair on her arms stood on end and her chest stilled, halting in its uneven hitching breaths completely and her eyes flew open. Silently she stared at the wall and found that she could reach for her facade.

Like the quiet before the storm Jisa was stilled, inside and out. Before she could wonder what Ash had seen or what impression she had gotten, Jisa forced herself to speak. Maybe she hadn’t noticed anything. Maybe, just maybe, Ash would brush it off as just another quirk to make up the cursed Shifter in front of her. Rationally, it wasn’t likely, but Jisa barred herself from her rational mind.

“Do you know what it’s like to die, Ash?”

The words came of their own accord, estranged from Jisa’s mind, both rational and insane. What she had meant to say was something light, harsh and sarcastic in a way that was almost endearing, or at least it was when it came to Jisa. The tension in her body was nearly enough to snap her in half, but she would not turn to see the girl that she lived with. She couldn’t. Her words were dead and Jisa was terrified that she couldn’t keep it together, if not for herself then for Ash. Always for someone else. Always for someone else.

Always for the someone else who ends up dead, lost, gone.

[RacingBelle]

Ashleigh

~This is my brand new day in the light, troubles rising up on the left and the right. I keep my eyes fixed on where I want to go; the rest will follow.~

The wrongness emanated from that room. I wanted to back up and head right out the door or perhaps up to my room but something stopped me. I needed to be there for Jisa. She was my friend and my..guide. I stepped cautiously into the doorway, leaning my left side against it heavily. My ankle throbbed but at least I got to take my weight off of it.

I looked at the form still sitting in the darkness, facing away from me. She didn't turn to look at me but instead focused on something in the background. Was this really Jisa? This certainly wasn't the Jisa I knew but then again what did I really know about Jisa? What did Jisa really know about me? I shook those thoughts from my mind.

Was this really Jisa? It had to be. The woman sitting on the floor had the scent of Jisa, looked like Jisa, even remotely felt like Jisa. Still I let another question slip from my mouth, the same word as before but with a different meaning, "Jisa?" The sound was soft, barely audible.

The air felt electric, as if a huge storm was on the way. The form on the floor spoke. “Do you know what it’s like to die, Ash?”

This was even Jisa's voice and it even sounded like something she would say. "No, Jisa, I don't. I'm still alive, still here. If you think about it, we're all dying as every minute ticks by. Our deaths loom closer and closer and there's nothing we can do about it. But I don't know what it's like to die because I'm still here. I'm still alive...or dying, whatever you want to choose. It's like glass half full or glass half empty. What does it matter, they're both the same thing."

Where did that come from? Where did that question come from and where did I get that answer from? Again, so many questions, Ash, but not enough answers.

~The old can be made new, the lost can be found, the lost will be found.~

(Inspired by Jisa! Lyrics from Superchick's Pure.)

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

Jisa could feel Ash’s unease like it was its very own presence in the room. Of course, everything about all of this was enough to make even the strongest person want to turn and run. It made Jisa want to turn and run. But that was an instinct she would never let herself follow again. Detached and calmed, Jisa opened up her senses, taking in every sound and scent and feeling she could. Ash leant against the doorframe, leaning heavily to one side. She smelled like the forest and sunshine and adrenaline worn down. Normally, at that point she would’ve made some smart comment about the EF and Ash would reply with something sparkling with attitude and the essence of young life, but Jisa couldn’t derail her thoughts from the track that they were on now. She was stuck. Ash’s tentative question forced a small, rough laugh out of Jisa’s chest, short and more like a scoff.

She had always kept her composure, made sure to keep most of it around Ash and Anya. Ash’s answer grounded Jisa, pulled her back a little more, she managed a humourless smile, opening her eyes to the darkness around her.

”That’s true," she allowed, nodding almost imperceptibly. ”I suppose I don’t know what it’s like to die, either. I know what’s it’s like to watch people die. I even know what it’s like to nearly die, all too well."

She had regained enough presence of mind to rein herself in before she told Ash all of the things that she wondered at whenever the pain was the worst. When she remembered all of those people she had killed. All those people that had been killed by others and she had loved them. After finally admitting it, accepting the fact, Jisa realized that it was better to pretend she didn’t have a heart, couldn’t feel anything toward anyone. Roul’s sister, Kaala had once thought that she hadn’t had one. How wrong they all were.

She had been all too close to revealing to Ash that she thought that maybe, maybe death wasn’t all that bad. It was the ones left alive that dealt with the most pain, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?

Her loss of control was terrifying. That day that she had attacked Ash, she had lost control of herself in the worst of ways. The aftereffects of chemicals, poisons that no one knew about and no one knew what the long term effects were. She could be-

Even after all of this, she was scared of death. For all that she talked a big game and pretended she didn’t care about anyone or anything or herself, she was afraid of leaving people behind.

”I’m sorry,” she whispered gently, to Ash and to no one and everyone. ”I’m just a little tired, ignore me.”

The fire of panic was gone, leaving the residue of fatigue deep in her bones. Like an old woman, she rose to her feet, unfolding from the floor. Her chest felt restricted, tight, but she couldn’t put this all on Ash.

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

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[RacingBelle]

Ashleigh

~This is my brand new day in the light, troubles rising up on the left and the right. I keep my eyes fixed on where I want to go; the rest will follow.~

Jisa's laugh sounded even more strange than usual. When was the last time I heard her laugh? Had it sounded like that? It certainly had been while in any case.

I only nodded to Jisa's reply to my philosophical answer. I had nothing to say. Even with my encounters with the EF I hadn't come close to nearly dying. I suppose I could count myself lucky. What had Jisa gone through to make her like this? Or had she always been like this?

I remembered the picture of what I thought was probably Jisa's family that I had seen the first time I had walked into Jisa's house. I glanced at it now. What had happened to her family? Were they still alive? Were they the people she watched die? Who did she watch die? Her friends?

You shouldn't be so nosy, shifter. Curiosity killed the cat remember? That voice said. Curiosity may have killed said cat but satisfaction brought it back, remember? I snapped. Besides I'm a horse, not a cat. I poked Conscience back into its dark dwelling in the back of my mind. And would you stay there for once? I growled mentally. You tell me, after all we are one, Conscience called back. I sighed, this time the action was not mental.

I had not realized the silence had stretched out like it did. I didn't realize that the electricity and the wrongness wasn't quite as thick as before. Or was it just my imagination? Probably.

"Don't worry about it. You seem to have enough to trouble you anyway." I watched as Jisa got up from the floor like she was old and worn down. She wasn't...wasn't she? When had Jisa ever seemed so old?

I moved from the middle of the doorway, awkwardly, to allow Jisa room if she wanted to escape. Cornered animals always lashed out.

~The old can be made new, the lost can be found, the lost will be found.~

(Inspired by Jisa! Lyrics from Superchick's Pure.)

[{J I S A}]

You’re Gonna Wish You
N e v e r h a d m e t M e

Stilling the fluttering heart in her chest, goaded by the remnants of adrenaline in her system, Jisa took a deep, cleansing breath. She imagined that it would take away all of the insanity and uncertainty and darkness with it as she exhaled. It made her feel marginally better. Turning, she finally faced Ash, her blue eyes bright in the darkness. The cut on her cheek was nearly a memory, closed up and only slightly raised against her skin. Another reminder that she was not as powerful as she once was. The words she had once spoken to Ash seemed to echo in the room around them, Jisa could feel the other girl’s questions as closely as if they were in her own mind. She had been self-righteous when she had given Ash advice all those weeks - or was it months now? - ago. It wasn’t curiosity that killed the cat, it was arrogance and the fatal need to be right and appear untouchable that murdered it.

”You can ask, you know.”

It was a dare. Jisa’s eyes sparked with something indiscernible- anger? Amusement? A sickening mix of both? Stella had figured it out, but Stella was gone now, and Jisa was left to look after her child. A mirror of another time that seemed so long ago now.

”I should be over it by now, anyway.”

Six years, it had been that long. Each year she’d been thrown through another loop and now her past was too crisscrossed and confused for her to determine whose side she was on, for her to decide what she felt about herself or about anyone else. Maybe if she spoke the words out loud, she could finally just move on. Although, Ash had run away from her family, she had done it willingly. It was heartless to think it, but what if she just didn’t understand?

No, she has more humanity than that, than you.

Jisa was morbidly curious, though, about how Ash could have left her family. Under no threat from outside influence, no one to take it all away from her. It was her choice. Wasn’t it a novel concept? A choice. Jisa couldn’t remember the last time her choices weren’t controlled by someone else or spurned by actions outside of her control.

Ash moved to the side, allowing Jisa space. Space! As if she were a penned animal, ready to spring for the chance to leave and damn anyone in the way. Her words were carefully checked, she didn’t give in to the curiosity she most certainly felt. An unnatural smile flitted across Jisa’s face.

”You can sense it, can’t you? How unstable I am, how dangerous."

[RacingBelle]

Ashleigh

~This is my brand new day in the light, troubles rising up on the left and the right. I keep my eyes fixed on where I want to go; the rest will follow.~

I had been imagining it before, that the wrongness and electricity had faded. I could feel the air become thick with both; the storm was close, the wrongness nearing its peak.

"Someone told me once that I should learn to keep my thoughts as thoughts. This is one of those times," I replied, eerily calm. I could feel Jisa's challenge but I would not answer, not this time. This was a dangerous game we were playing. "You can tell me if you want to, in your own time."

Besides, I think I have my answer. Or a answer. I thought. It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong because either way the answer isn't a happy one.

"Time doesn't heal all wounds," I stated simply. What did I know about loss? I didn't. Jisa did.

More silence, more tension followed my statement before Jisa spoke again. ”You can sense it, can’t you? How unstable I am, dangerous." She smiled at this. That smile...it wasn't right. It didn't mean what a smile usually meant. Not amusement. Not a sign of happiness.

I tilted my head just slightly, thinking. I knew Jisa was dangerous,a force to reckon with, and one you would not want as your enemy but unstable? Was she unstable? I remembered to the day in Highwolf Field. That day where she shifted as if she had no control over it. The first time I had seen her shifted to where she looked at me like prey. Was that a sign of unstability? No, just a sign that she lost control. It happens. Hell, it even happened to me, and more than just once. I shrugged.

"I'm prey, remember? I don't like feeling like I have no escape. Maybe a predator feels the same," I stated simply, giving some sort of explanation for why I moved. I shifted positions slightly to where it was more comfortably.

~The old can be made new, the lost can be found, the lost will be found.~

(Inspired by Jisa! Lyrics from Superchick's Pure.)

[{J I S A}]

You’re Gonna Wish You
N e v e r h a d m e t M e

Simmering beneath the skin, threatening to claw its way out, the turbulent waters of pent up emotions was tightening her skin, making her feel claustrophobic again. Here she had given someone a chance to learn part of her past, something she guarded so closely that sometimes she wondered if she hadn’t hidden the magnitude of it from herself, and Ash didn’t even want to take that opportunity. She was being careful with Jisa, and she had a right to be. Even Jisa knew that this was all wrong but she couldn’t fix it. She didn’t know how to, or even why it was happening in the first place. She felt the gasoline of her anger waiting to be lit, and she hated that she couldn’t stop it.

Ash was throwing her words back at her, as if they were to be taken as the word of god. They weren’t right, nothing that came out of Jisa’s mouth was right. There should have been something soothing in those words, time doesn’t heal all wounds.

[/color] Of course, of course it didn’t but that certainly didn’t help did it?

Then, Ash just had to say the word.

PREDATOR

Because, of course that was what Jisa was, in every sense of the word. She was the EF. She hunted and killed and she had hunted and killed supernaturals, then had wished she could do the same to the hunters who had made her the way she was. There was nothing but predatory instincts in her. That’s all she ever was.

”Of course.”

She shook her head, wondering at the fact that her claws had pressed tightly enough into the palms of her hand to draw blood. Her skin felt like it was crawling with black energy, and then the anger overwhelmed her, threaded through with rational fear and panic as she tried to bring herself back in, but couldn’t even manage a semblance of it.

Thin scratches ran the length of her arms as she tried to hold herself physically together, irate with the strangest out of control feeling that pressed behind her eyes and made her head swim.

Don’tdon’tdon’t hurt Ash.

Her heart was thundering in her ribcage and threatening to burst out. She was breathing in heaving breaths, trying to keep herself under control and stop the bloodrage that was coursing through her and she was suddenly pacing and running her hands through her hair and she was terrified of hurting Ash or hurting herself and losing control. The blood that ran down her arms didn’t register as more than pinpricks of heat over her skin. The words that rushed out of her mouth in a breathless jumble just didn’t make sense, apologies, angry accusations, thoughts of those who were gone and-[/justify][/size]
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[RacingBelle]

Ashleigh

~This is my brand new day in the light, troubles rising up on the left and the right. I keep my eyes fixed on where I want to go; the rest will follow.~

The storm loomed overhead, threatening to break in a moment's notice. I locked my jaw and stood my ground. My first defense as a horse may be to flee and not to fight but I would not flee. I would stand through the storm.

I took a breath, then another steadying myself. I pushed my instincts to the back of my head. Human, you are human. Was I really? I felt as if I could no longer keep the human Ashleigh, and the horse separate most of the time. I felt as if they were so tangled together that I could no longer untangle them and be one or the other. Silence wrapped itself around us as I once more had nothing to say to Jisa's short answer.

The wrongness and electricity was reaching its crescendo.

Jisa's hands were balled into her fists her nails---or were those claws?---dug into her palms.

The twin evils increased yet more.

Thin scratches ran up and down her arms as she fought herself. I didn't know what to do. So I stood silently.

And more.

Time seemed to slow and I crossed my arms and hugged myself tightly. Jisa breathed heavily. Blood dripped down her arms. She didn't notice. The panther shifter fought on. I could smell her fear and anger. Don't you dare run. Stand steady.

And still more.

Till it burst and the storm broke. Thunder crashed and time started to pass too quickly. Rain came in the form of words that fell from Jisa's mouth in a flood. I tried to take it all in but couldn't understand a word. It was all so jumbled and confused. Apologies, accusations, and so many of Jisa's thoughts of others whom I didn't know, or would ever know, and more flooded my ears. Still I stood silently, straightening against the doorway, muscles tensed. I will not flee. I will not run. I thought fiercely. I didn't know why I wanted to, yet I did. Jisa was not going to hurt me, if anything she was going to hurt herself. But she looked so much like the predator from Highwolf Field.

How long had Jisa held all this in? How had she carried this burden? I didn't know. I didn't know if I wanted to.

~The old can be made new, the lost can be found, the lost will be found.~

(Inspired by Jisa! Lyrics from Superchick's Pure.)

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

Just as quickly as it had arisen and destroyed, the feeling dissipated. Drained out of Jisa like the blood welling on her arms and in her hands. She pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes, her shoulders quivering with the impossible release of tension. Her whole body was vibrating with minute shaking. She bit her tongue to stop the torrent of words from escaping her mouth.

All of the fight left her, leaving a strange weightlessness in its place. Her body slackened and she took in a ragged breath, wondering at the fact that she could fill her lungs. Her head cleared instantaneously. She catalogued with severe embarrassment what Ash had seen of her. An unfortunate slip. That’s what Jisa tried to convince herself it was. It wasn’t that she was unraveling at the frayed edges of existence. Just a minor slip.

Taking one more steadying breath, she straightened her shoulders, ignoring the shaking that still ruined her composure. It would be nearly imperceptible to a human, but Ash was no human. The raw stinging lancing through her arms and palms had already begun to abate, soothed by Shifter blood, no matter how defective it may or may not be.

”I don’t suppose we could pretend you didn’t come home this morning?"

Just to save face, she allowed herself a self-assured smirk, as if she hadn’t just nearly torn herself apart and lost it completely. She shoved her hands into her jeans’ pockets, ignoring the pain in her arms and hands as she always had. As if nothing had ever happened. She moved forward, giving Ash a wide berth as she passed through the living room doors.

”Have you seen Anya today?”

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

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[RacingBelle]

Ashleigh

~Don't stand up, they'll shoot down the first one who tries.
Try to change the world, they'll think you're out of your mind.~

As quickly as the storm had started, it ended. But the sky was still cloudy and grey. Jisa had fallen silent, palms pressed to her eyes, body shaking. I unfolded my arms and adjusted my position on the doorway. I felt like I had blinked and it was all over. Not that I was complaining. I bowed my head, squeezing my eyes shut and just listened to the sound of breathing.

My head felt like it was spinning and I let out a breathe that I didn't know I was holding, taking in a deep breath. It took a few more breathes before my head felt normal again. Fear no longer pulsed through me like it was my blood, and instincts no longer clamored for me to run. I felt tired, less energetic than I had when I first walked in here however long ago. Not as tired, I thought, as Jisa must feel right now.

I lifted my head at the sound of Jisa's voice. She shoved her hands in her pockets, even though it must have hurt even just a little bit, and gave me a smirk. I swallowed the words that formed in the back of my throat. I wanted to say, "No. What was that? What just happened?" but I would say nothing, only nod a small smile on my face.

How could she just pretend that...whatever just happened didn't?

Jisa slipped past me, giving me as wide a berth as possible and ask a question. ”Have you seen Anya today?”

"No, I haven't. I just got back from Stonewick," I replied. I lingered in the doorway for a few more seconds before following Jisa.

~Revolutions start when someone crosses the line.~

(Inspired by Jisa! Lyrics from Superchick's Cross The Line.)

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

Jisa swallowed the instinctual awkwardness she felt, feigning indifference. Nothing had happened. The world hadn’t just nearly crashed down on her head. Regret for putting Ash through that was starting to creep in, only further making it difficult to pretend nothing had happened. She wanted to apologize, but she wondered if that would serve to do anything but make the situation even more strained. The only time she’d come close to that kind of breakdown was two years ago, and that hadn’t even scratched the surface of what had just happened. Jisa took another breath, internally flinching at the fact that she could hear Ash let out a held breath and her heart begin to slow once again.

If Ash had been scared, why hadn’t she just gotten out of there? It was the smart thing to do. What would make her stay through all of that? Jisa could have hurt her if she’d really lost it. She shook her head again, fighting back another scoff, what was really losing it, if not what had just gone on? Not that Ash couldn’t take care of herself. That fact was obvious by the fact that she was still alive and taunting EF hunters. Speaking of…

”What happened to your ankle at Stonewick? You need some ice for it?”

Jisa pretended not to notice how Ash hesitated in the doorway. It probably wasn’t fair to the younger girl to just sweep everything under the carpet, but it was impossible to explain what she couldn’t understand herself. It was a mix of many things that just took too long to explain fully.

Removing her hands from her pockets, Jisa strode into the kitchen and headed for the sink, running the water and washing the drying blood on her hands and arms off. She watched the pink tinged water swirl down the drain and took stock of how much damage she’d caused. They were all just superficial wounds and would heal on their own.

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

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[RacingBelle]

Ashleigh

~Don't stand up, they'll shoot down the first one who tries.
Try to change the world, they'll think you're out of your mind.~

I pushed aside all thoughts of what just happened and focused on something, anything else. It was easy to focus on something else. I could focus on my ankle. Pain was always a good distraction. I could pretend that nothing had happened. It was easy enough to do. I shook my head. Nothing was easy and certainly this wasn't.

Jisa finally asked the question that I was waiting for. I grinned sheepishly. "I went for a gallop and jumped a tree. Well, let's just say the tree didn't want to let go. Ice would probably be good."

The other shifter headed for the sink and my nostrils flared at the metallic scent of blood and water. I hesitated only for a moment, reminding myself that it was only Jisa's blood. I wasn't afraid of blood, it didn't make me faint or sick to my stomach I just didn't like it much considering who I was. The scent of blood in the air nearly always meant danger, to stay away. Far away.

I racked my brain, trying to remember where the 'plastic baggies' were as my school teachers had called Zip Loc bags. I walked to one drawer and congratulated myself. Grabbing one I then filled it with ice.

Sitting at a convenient chair, I restrained myself from kicking the shoe off like I usually would have done. Instead, I worked the shoe off, biting my lip to keep a few choice words inside my head. The shoe finally off I placed the bag of ice on the swollen ankle, wincing at the cold. I hated the cold. Winter, after all, was my least favorite season. Huh, it looks worse than it did yesterday. Oh well, everything had to get worse before it gets better right?

I wasn't sure what to say to Jisa. It wasn't as if I could say "Hey, so how was your morning?" or "How have you been?" or "What have you been up to lately?" All of those questions seemed bad ideas. So I turned to the subject of Anya, which seemed the safest thing to talk about. "Where do you think she is?"

[/i][/size][/center]

~Revolutions start when someone crosses the line.~

(Inspired by Jisa! Lyrics from Superchick's Cross The Line.)

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

Jisa was surprised to find that she genuinely smiled when Ash explained what had happened to her ankle. Nothing to do with the EF, which was a pleasantly unexpected answer. What a novel concept, just going for a run and enjoying the air around you and releasing energy. No plan, no ulterior motive, just doing what you wanted because you wanted to. It had probably been too long since Jisa had done such a thing. What had changed between when she was seventeen and now? She had hated what she was back then, loathed the Shifter side of her and had challenged life at every moment she could. Even so, she had been a semblance of happy- well, compared to now. It had been less serious, more attitude and sarcasm and willingness to succeed. So what had changed? She gestured lightly toward the freezer, welcoming Ash to grab herself something to numb the swollen joint.

That would probably hurt in the morning- it probably hurt now.

The last of the blood sluiced off of Jisa’s arms and hands, leaving angry red marks marring her skin. She’d had worse, and would likely continue to have worse. That was the life, she supposed. Jisa had washed off as quickly as she could, knowing that anything to do with the predatory side of life would make Ash uneasy, as was in her nature. The poor girl had gone through enough today without Jisa unnecessarily adding to it. Reaching for a towel, Jisa dried off her skin and tugged the sleeves of her sweater back down over her wrists.

She turned around and leaned against the counter, watching as Ash applied the ice to her reddened ankle, content to stay in silence for the moment.

”Anya?” Jisa shrugged. ”I wouldn’t be able to guess, though she’s always loved being outside. I’d say that she’d be in town, she likes to listen to people.”

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

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