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Siya the Shadow sat on the padded window seat in her quiet little room in her shared apartment and brooded. She had her knees pulled tight to her chest, her heels flush against her bottom while her china-doll’s chin rested on her knees, all while enveloped in a gray angora sweater that made her look soft and lost. All in all it was a satisfyingly brooding pose for a satisfyingly brooding scene but for all that it wasn’t helping her work through anything. 

Veti. 

Veti was at the heart of it all, Veti and Max who had burned so bright that they lit up Siya’s world. Veti who had saved Siya and worried over her. Max who had made her smile and want to be brave as often as he’d made her roll her eyes. And now Veti was broken, Max was gone and Siya didn’t know how to fix anything. Her lack ate at her. She wanted to be for her friend what her friend had been for her, but it was all different. When Veti had saved her, Siya had merely lost her life. Veti had lost her heart. That was something Siya couldn’t’ fix even if she knew how, which she didn’t.

Her eyes flicked over to the vase of dead white Zinnias that she probably should have thrown away but couldn’t bring herself too. She knew what they had meant, she had looked it up. They meant she was missed. Missed, but not enough to call, not enough to come visit, not even enough for a post card. 

[i]But you didn’t do any of those things either[/i], a small voice said in her head. She hated that voice, so reasonable, so correct. 

[i]I was taking care of Veti[/i], she informed that voice. The voice was unimpressed.

[i]And what a good job you have done with that[/i], was the snarky reply

It was right, she had been taking care of Veti, for all the good it did. Food, attention, quiet affection and as many hugs as Veti could stand. Even so she could feel her friend slipping away, her broken heart slowly decaying inside her. Veti was away just then, to her spot in the woods where she spent her monthlies. Siya wasn’t fooled, this was about more than just going and getting her wolf on, this was about losing herself, working herself up to something terrible, something final. There wasn’t anything Siya could do or say to make Veti want to stay in a world without Max. Siya certainly wasn’t enough to hold her. She didn’t even warrant a text. 

She sniffed and whipped away a pink-tinged tear and scowled at it in disgust. She was supposed to be brooding and not whining. But the pink of her tears gave her something to brood about. Daisy, daisy with her stupid pink hair, her silent mopes and her dog that shed all over the place. It was hard enough dealing with a fading Veti without a candy-colored Reaper hanging around. Siya would have run her off but for one thing, Veti seemed to like her, or at least like the ridiculous shedding dog. That he helped her friend meant Siya tolerated them. While she didn’t like the bubble-gum reaper (or maybe didn’t, she wasn’t sure but she wanted to be mad at someone) she and the girl had come to a sort of silent accord in which they both watched Veti. 

But it wasn’t enough. They were losing her, it was just a matter of time. 
“Shit.” Siya said her husky little voice thick with her accent and thickened further with loss. 

That’s when the tap-tap-tapping came. She turned her head towards the sound with a speed that was not human, a hint at the power contained within the tiny body whose potential had not fully been seen. She’d learned a lot about herself, her abilities and her bloodline in the chaos that had taken Max from them, it hadn’t been a worthwhile exchange. She stared at the small metal ball and understood, Atticus. 

For a brief moment she felt something swelling within her, joy, hope, something almost human. She smiled, her tear wet cheeks plumping as she carefully opened the window and took the ball into her pale, underfed hand. She hefted the weight of it and stared at it, savoring the imagined contents. She hadn’t been a onetime thing, he’d been occupied, would she forgive him? Finally when her impatience outweighed her savoring she began to read and with each line, each word her smile faded and she drooped. 

She was such a fool. Business, it was all business. Work, nothing more.

But what more was there? With Veti gone, maybe gone for good and the Zinnias long dead there was little for Siya but work. She crushed the stupid letter and put it on the table next to the dead Zinnias and began to pack her bags. 

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She didn’t like traveling by Shade-gate, not after that disastrous side trip to London but there wasn’t time to arrange a flight that wouldn’t have her fried in seconds. So she endured, holding her breath and plunging into the cool gray mist of the gate cringing as the feel of thousands of cobwebs passed over her skin. It was over briefly and the disorientation was minimal especially when she found herself yards away from the circle she was due at. There were others there some she knew by name, some she only knew by sight and there was him. 

She tried very hard not to seem pleased to see him but her traitor face did not cooperate, lighting up at the sight of his magnificent beard and the ink that peeked out from beneath his collar and sleeves. Ink that moved and lived, ink that writhed under his skin. She sucked in a sharp breath as a flash their night together took her over, skin on skin, heat, breath, and blood.

Oh the blood. It had done things to her she still couldn’t put into words. It had filled her and sated her so well she hadn’t needed to feed for almost a month despite all the chaos that followed that night. She hadn’t really eaten since, what was the point? Any blood she consumed would taste like cardboard after that. 

She closed her eyes willing away the vision and the resulting physical reactions from it. She would be professional, she would let his reactions be her guide. She smoothed down the skirt of her dress and stepped into the circle trying very hard to pretend she wasn’t reeling. She looked pale and fragile but queenly as she stepped into the circle, out of the shadows of the stones and into the light of the full moon. 

“Good Evening.” She said simply, her dark eyes on him, watching, waiting.