Faster...  Faster... Faster.  Through the windy roads of the Los Angeles rural roads Katherine sped her car.  Tears stung her eyes as she finally allowed herself a moment to herself, a moment to think, a moment to break...  She had to be strong.  She knew she had to be strong and yet she so direly didn't want to.  Heading toward the one place she knew that she could be alone, be herself.  A place that meant the world to her and yet it was also a place where she found true fear...  And yet still it was the place where she felt most at peace.  Her mind went to earlier days, when she was just starting out and learning this thing of theirs.  Early days when she was not a Don of her City, running her own family...  Things were different then, and yet she knew that similar feelings had cascaded through her at that time as well.  Perhaps that's why she remembered them as if they happened yesterday.  Smiling as she pulled her car to a halt.  Gazing out through those shimmering eyes, there lay before her a small fence that wrapped mostly around a large unclaimed field of grass.  So it was that seeing this scene before her, she allowed herself to become lost in a memory.

The war...  Finding Gavin...  Her first job...  Her family responsibilities...  Everything just cascaded on the young Los Angeles woman all at once.  It was too much!  Late one afternoon, Katherine Pryde took a drive simply to clear her head.  Out she drove...  Further and further until she drove far out of town.  Her heart raced as she became just a little nervous as she had driven further from home than she typically did, and with her gas gauge broken, she wasn't entirely certain how much gas she had.  She knew she should have filled up before leaving, but hey...  Live on the edge she supposed!  There was also the fact that she didn't bring any bodyguards with her...  Yea, she was just asking to take a bullet...  But hey, Kat honestly felt fearless and a tad reckless today so off she drove.

Miles and miles flew by until the buildings thinned out and there were only fields as far as the eye can see.  She smiled a little feeling like she had been oblivious that a place like this even existed out in Los Angeles...  But hey here it was!  She sighed a little and continued to drive for a time until she found a place to pull off and park.  Doing so and locking up the car, she exited the vehicle and drew in the fresh air.  It was delicious...  No smog, no car exhaust...  Just fresh air and grass...  She smiled and wandered away from the car a ways, just enjoying the way the breeze felt on her skin.  Slowly removing her sweater, she continued to gaze around her as she just walked.  Now she didn't get far before she came to a fenced area.  What?  Curiouser and curiouser...  Kat hopped the fence, glancing around as she hung the sweater over the fence post.  What was this?  An unkept grassy field fenced in...  There toward the center was...  Was that a practice dummy?  She approached it and laughed lightly.  It was a practice dummy...  But what was that laying propped against it...  Some kind of backpack with...  Was that a lever?  Confusion lit Kat up but she carefully pressed it down.

Katherine yelped and leaped back as these huge white feathered wings sprang out of the pack.  What the heck?!  Katherine laughed out loud, her eyes sparkling with mirth.  What in the world?  She knew what this was...  It was a treasure beyond what she could imagine.  A sight from her childhood...  The last time she had seen anything like this was in the papers and photos of the fighting tournament.  "Eleonora..."  She murmured softly as she ran her fingertips over the feathers.  "The angel of LA...  This must be..."  She cast her gaze around and chuckled softly.  She remembered reading an interview and she referenced her training spot.  She sighed a little and couldn't help but laugh softly as she gazed down upon the backpack allowing herself to reminisce for a moment.  This place...  It was amazing!  

Carefully figuring out how to fold the wings back into the pack, and close it up, she smiled a little as she ran her fingertips over the waterproof pack.  Genius...  Carefully turning the now packed backpack over again, she unzipped the outer pocket.  A soft gasp could be heard as she drew out two small notebooks.  As she carefully flipped through each one, she found them to be two journals kept by women much greater than she.  Awe and amazement overtook her as she stowed them away.  She would keep these safe and read through them.  She honestly wasn't sure who she would return them to anyway.

She explored a little more before looking at the dummy.  Maybe she could learn hand to hand combat like Eleonora...  She had always dreamed of that!  She laughed softly before engaging in a few punches at the dummy.  Hey! She could pretend... She could dream.

A quiet smile now lifted Katherine's countenance as she stepped out of the car quietly letting herself into the field again.  Walking in a carefree nature, she approached the practice dummy that had withstood the test of time and weather.  Running her fingertips across it's fabric and rough wood design, she chuckled and shook her head a little.  

"Some things never change..."

And once again she would start a flurry of punches at the poor abused practice dummy.  Perhaps one day she'd get the hang of this.