"What's the best place you've ever visited, some place you'd go back to NOT on business?" asked Tara.

"Hard to pick. A church in Venice. Random little farms. Maybe Capri."

"I've barely seen anything out in the world, only read about places in books... I'd like to travel eventually. See some things and do some things ... make some stories of my own, you know?"

"Where?"

"India." she said smiling. "I know, probably not what you expected me to say."

"Why?"

"I read this book, The Jungle Book by a man named Kipling. There's this short story in it called Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. I always liked that one. The names were fun. Mom always did sounds for the characters. But... it was my first look into India. Then I saw some pictures in a magazine. And learned about the teas from there... it seems exotic. Colorful. Like a whole other world."

 Tara smiles, "The women there dress in such bold colors. I remember staring at those pictures for hours on end just imagining the beautiful ladies dancing - I want to see it. I want to ride an elephant."

"I hear you can pet a tiger there too!"

Oriana rolls her eyes. "I thought about going there. Asia. Too risky, though. I'd stand out too much."

Tara's smile faded and she nodded. "You don't like to stand out?"

 "I don't like making it easy for the people hunting me."

"How many? I mean... how many people are hunting you?"

"I'm related to the last doge of Venice. They want my fortune."

 Tara tilts her head to the side wonder if she's being teased. "Are you?"

 "Related to the doge? No. Maybe?" Oriana shrugged.

Tara playfully swatted at Oriana. "I knew you were teasing me!"

Oriana half-flinches, half-dodges. She looks slightly bothered initially, but smirks to cover it up. "Stop trying to pet tigers, kid."

Tara stares at Oriana a moment, seeming to understand what she had done wasn't taken the way she had intended.

Tara's fingers curl up and she looks away.

"Why do you want to pet one, anyway?" asked Oriana.

Tara swallowed, "You'll think it's stupid."

"Probably."

Tara stared out at the loons.

 "... still curious, though." added Oriana

00:28 <AuroraMastrosimone[MR]> "They call my mom the lioness cause she's bold and she hunts so well - it's a throw back to her childhood. She's ... powerful. I'm not. I'm... sneakier, not at all bold like her, but I've always wondered if maybe I could be like her in other ways. Mom got her name from her mom when they saw lions together at a zoo but it kept coming up ... othe

00:28 <AuroraMastrosimone[MR]> r times in her life. Anyway, I guess I wanted to see a Tiger cause they're powerful like lions but... sneakier. Dangerous still, but... different."

Oriana frowned, "Tigers are bigger than lions. Scarier, too."

Tara looked to Oriana, "You've seen one?"

 "Just once. I didn't get to look at it much, since I had a mission."

Oriana pursed her lips.

 Tara muttered, "I didn't know Tigers were bigger than Lions. I guess I always thought Lions would be ... you know, Kings of the Jungle and all that? Seems like they should be the biggest. Guess I would have figured it out when I finally got in front of one." She shook her head, "Nope. Not a Tiger. Nice try, Tara. Well, see, no need to waste a trip to India now, eh?"

Tara picks up her pole and moves the bait again.

 "Right now, you're probably a housecat." smirked Oriana

 "I hear they're actually the most deadly animals on the planet if you were to count how many kills a day they get." countered Tara.

"Keep practicing, though, you never know. Maybe a panther."

Tara smirked. "Tiger might be ambitious. But you know... a girl has to have goals in life. So fuck it. Why not Tara the Tiger?"

She arched an eyebrow, "Who's to tell me I can't be a damn tiger if I want to be? I mean... why should I wait for someone to name me when I can say it myself?"

 "I can respect that. But Tara the tiger just sounds like you're a mascot for something. And there's too much muscle on tigers. You'd tip over.""

Tara laughed,  "Doesn't every mobster nickname you've ever heard?"

 "I haven't heard many."

"Really? No One Shoe Somny's in your life? Timmy two toes? Billy the Bull? Really? Not many? God I thought they gave you one the moment you got your button!"

"I never worked with criminals until I got here. Don't know the customs."

 "Does it bother you? The thought of working with criminals now?"

"Not really. It pays better. I'm mostly free."

Oriana frowned at herself again. "Alright. One last cast?"

 "The whole point of being a criminal is supposed to be that you don't have to follow rules... you do realize that, right?"

"Tell that to your parents."

"I will." Tara stood straighter.

"Don't kill that person. We don't threaten to use knives on Tara."

 "Do you WANT to use a knife on me? Cause I didn't think you really did that day."

 "... you've actually been much less annoying today, so I think you're safe. And no, I wasn't planning on it, unless you did something stupid."

 Tara scoffed, "When you told me to shut up, I was about to tell you how to leave the house without running into my bodyguard."

Oriana stood up, frustrated by the lack of fish. "Well, your bodyguards sucked. And I couldn't let you talk. If you'd been able to communicate, well...." She shrugged. "Doesn't seem like the fish are biting. I'll try tomorrow morning. We've got other stuff to eat."

 "Well, I guess we should both be thankful you kept control of the situation and I didn't do anything that I would have later regretted." Tara smiles picking up her pole and reeling it in. "And for the record, you're less annoying too."

Tara brewed up the tea, mostly in silence, listening to the sounds of the wilderness around them.  The frogs and crickets created a symphony that, at least in her opinion, was far better than any noises she ever heard in the city.  As the stars began to appear she found herself looking up constantly.

"You just can't see them in the city... I've missed the stars."  She mused as Oriana made peanut butter sandwiches and passed it and some jerky into Tara's hands.

"I can think of worse ways to spend the night than this, out by a lake under the stars with..."  she glanced to Oriana and smiled, "... a friend.  I refuse to consider this as something you're being paid to do.  Teaching me to fight could have happened anywhere.  Don't deny it.  We're friends now."

"How do you define a friend? And I actually picked this place because it's close to the job I want to do, if you want to hear about it. You showed today you can at least slightly protect yourself."

"Well, of course, I want to hear about this job we're going to do... but, seriously, you didn't need to tie the job and training me together. I think you did it because you DO think I'm a friend and you wanted me along or at the very least you would prefer not to be alone and I'll take that. It's a huge step up from 'shut up kid' ..." Tara laughed.

"You don't want to be my friend. I'm a bad person. And my friends get in trouble. I'm sure you'll find better friends out of the millions of people in New York."

"You do realize that my whole family is full of criminals... literally murders and thieves, right?  What in the world has led you to the conclusion that my friends would be any different?"

Oriana scowled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you."

"You're not. It's just a bad idea."

"I'm full of bad ideas." Tara gave Oriana a reassuring smile and bit into her sandwich. "Besides," She says with a mouth full of peanut butter, "The fact that it bothers you... shows you care, Friend."  She winks.

Oriana looks exasperated for a while, but eventually just shakes her head and says nothing.  She sighs as she looks down at the fire.

"Alright, I won't push my luck. If resignation is what I get... I'll take it. Honestly, it's the best I've ever managed to get by being honestly me with anyone so... it's enough for today." Tara finishes her sandwich.

Oriana stands and stretches, heading towards the tent, and tosses a "Shut up, kid" over her shoulder.

Tara rolls her eyes and continues to sit by the fire. She wanted nothing more than to go inside the tent with Oriana but ... things were odd enough without that distraction. Instead, she'd sit with the fire until it died and then, and only then, would she go into the tent and hopefully be too tired to be kept awake by the thought of the beautiful woman sleeping in arms reach of her... arguably in the same bed with her.

Oriana slipped off to sleep, feeling more comfortable than she had in weeks. No, months.

It didn't last.

As the moon climbed higher, Oriana's body began to twitch. Her eyes moved behind her lids and her breathing sped up.

"A solis ortu usque ad occasum
  laudabile nomen Domini."

"Sister- no. No." Oriana's voice was barely a whisper in the tent.

She was twelve, singing in the choir for Sister Cristiana. Then the other girls in the choir suddenly pulled out guns, and Oriana fought them, tooth and nail. They all fell, and then Oriana fell on her knees. She opened her eyes when she felt a familiar hand reach out and lift her chin. She danced with Francesco for what felt like hours before the other girls arrived. The Wolves. The other two Cats. The Rabbits. Oriana reached for Lucia, but Francesco pulled her back to a hard embrace. When Oriana tried to push him away, the other girls rushed her, and she was fighting for her life.

Every single one of them came after her, and Oriana suddenly found a knife in her hand. She used it with deadly precision, killing her attackers. Hearing footsteps behind her, she slashes blindly with the knife and hears Lucia cry out in pain. Twisting, she sees that she had sliced through Lucia's throat. Oriana rushes to her and she's suddenly 22, trying to staunch the bleeding with one hand while keeping the knife in the other. When she feels Francesco's hand on her shoulder, Oriana sweeps her leg and sends him crashing to the floor. She leaps on him like a tiger, pressing the blade to his throat and-

***

Tara had heard Oriana twisting, turning, and speaking in her sleep. With a gentle hand on her shoulder, Tara sleepily tried to wake Oriana.

With a movement too swift bleary eyes to process, Oriana leaped on Tara and straddled her as a knife appeared in her hand, then at Tara's throat. Tara found herself looking up at wild, grey, murderous, eyes, framed by a sweaty brow. Oriana

Tara's body froze.  She did not fight back.  Brigitte had likened Oriana to a wounded animal and at that moment, Tara saw one. Wounded animals weren't sweet things in need of love. They were vicious and killed more easily than animals in good health. So, she held still. Her voice soft.

"Ori... please..."

Oriana's eyes went wide, and she gripped the knife tighter before slamming it down into the ground a foot away from Tara's head. Shaking, Oriana threw herself off of Tara onto the ground, still breathing heavily.

It was quiet for a long time. Eventually, Oriana spoke.

"I didn't know they were that bad. I'm sorry. I would have got two tents if I knew. That's... shit like that is why you shouldn't want to be my friend."

Oriana had moved as far away from Tara as she could get in the tent.

Tara would have given anything to have felt Oriana atop her last night, to have looked up into her lovely eyes - but this was a case of being careful what you wish for. 

The knife slammed into the dirt and Tara winced so hard that her whole body shuddered.  Then she lay unmoving as Oriana scrambled away from her and the tent plunged into silence.  

It was the second time Oriana had put a knife to her throat, but unlike the last time, this time she wasn't sure the other woman wouldn't do it.  Tara's hand came up to her throat, and she closed her eyes, and for a moment all she could see was that look on Oriana's face .. that snarl on her lips... the pure hatred.

She knew it wasn't herself who Oriana was seeing, and yet that was very little comfort. 

"I didn't know they were that bad."

Tears welled up in Tara's eyes.  

"I'm sorry."

Opening her eyes to look up at the roof of the tent, the tears slid from the corners of her eyes.

"I would have got two tents if I knew."

Tara could hear the emotion in the other woman's voice and feel the gaping distance between them.  A small part of her knew she should suck this up, she should try to say something supportive or have the courage of a Mastrosimone and go to her. 

"That's... shit like that is why you shouldn't want to be my friend."

She should have the strength of heart of Nona Bella, and tell the other woman she understood why it happened, that it was okay and that she wasn't going anywhere.  Nona Bella wouldn't have left Grandpa Gavin alone with that kind of pain - she wouldn't have been afraid of death, she wasn't afraid of anything when it came to those she loved as proven by both how she lived and how she died.

Tara sat up, still holding her throat, her eyes fixated on the memory of the moment she woke.  Trying to find a place where what just happened wasn't as horrible as it felt.  Her logical brain warred with her instincts and her breath quickened until Tara found herself smothering a sob with her hand.  She was overcome by it all, as much for what could have happened as for what did, and the sense of impotence she now had about fixing it.

She looked at Oriana then, for the first time really looked at her.  Nona Bella would have gone to her, comforted her.  She would have loved her even when she herself didn't think she could be loved - the way she loved Grandpa Gavin.  Brigitte told her what she needed to do to bond with Oriana - be a bolder Nona Bella - but Tara knew she couldn't.  That wasn't who she was, not even a little, and so it all felt so fucking hopeless.

Tara crawled then to the door of the tent, and without a word, exited.

Outside the Aurora Borealis could be barely seen, a thin ribbon of pale green floating in the sky like an apparition.  Tara walked towards the water and about twenty steps away, she began to cry and didn't stop until she hit her knees on the shore - hiding her face in shame.  Aurora would have fought off her attacker and held her until she stopped.  Bella would have comforted the suffering woman who had seen and been through things that she would not share.  Tara would have stopped at nothing to have discovered Ori's secret pain and Gavin would have hunted down those who wronged Ori and made them all pay for the tears she was now shedding - for the constant and unrelenting terror she lived in.  But what could she do? 

Tara doubled over and pounded her fist on the earth with a sense of futility.  She couldn't tell the other woman that she wasn't crying because she was scared of being gutted like a fish, but of nearly being gutted by a girl that - for some unfathomable reason - she'd found herself attracted to.  That once again Ori had threatened her life and some part of her brain was just thankful to have been touched... 

What kind of fucked-up is that?

Tara cried harder with the self-reassurance that nothing about her was right or 'normal.'  Even in loving other women instead of men, she managed to make it as odd and difficult as possible.  She didn't fall in love with some friend at school or Brigitte's companions... no, she had to fall for a woman who seemed destined to one day (either by accident or on purpose) get her killed.  A girl she didn't know the first thing about helping, or she COULD be helped.  Oriana didn't want to tell her anything about herself - how the fuck could she EVER hope to help someone who wouldn't tell her what was wrong? 

She didn't know how much time had passed, but she cried until it was done and then, feeling the streaks of mud on her face she moved to the water and began to clean herself.  The moon reflected on the icy water, and for a while, Tara stared at her own face slowly resolving before her as the waters became still again.  

Maybe she could go back to school.  End her 'engagement' to 'Orin.'  Maybe try to date one of those Harvard boys... maybe she just hadn't met the right one yet, the way Brigitte had asked.  She knew that was a lie, but she wanted it to not be.  She just wanted it to be simple and like it was for all the women in all the stories... just like in the journals.  

Tara gave a ragged sigh and slowly stood up. 

She couldn't go back to the tent.  What would she say?  She'd abandoned Oriana and run out here to cry.  Surely the other woman would read fear into that... and maybe it was a bit about that, but she didn't mean it to say she didn't want her friendship.  She did.  God help her, she wanted it and more, but the whole thing in her hands seemed doomed.  Tara wasn't any of the things Oriana probably needed and she wasn't sure she was what anyone would ever need.

If she was ever going to face the other woman again, she had to get her head on straight is what she needed.  She looked to the woods and, without hesitation or fear of the darkness there, she walked off.  The woods and everything in them were so much easier than the world and all the people in it.  You knew what you'd find there, you'd know what would and wouldn't hurt you.  No one judged you in the trees and in the silence, one could actually think... and sometimes, if you were lucky, find answers.

Her steps quickened until she was jogging and before she knew it, running ... into the trees and towards the solace and answers she prayed they could provide her.

Oriana didn't move, looking down as Tara scrambled out of the tent. She couldn't blame Tara for running. 

Oriana closed her eyes as she listened to the girl start crying. Fuck.

And then it was quiet. Oriana stood up and walked to the rock near the lake where'd they'd fished. Her bare feet touched the cool stone and she crossed her arms as she looked out at the water.

What a fucking mess.

Rather than explode in anger, Oriana forced herself to take a deep breath. It just wasn't fair. She'd escaped Francesco- escaped them all. But no matter how far she'd run, she still stayed under the shadow of her past. Fuck. Couldn't even be safe in her sleep.

She just needed time, probably. More distance between her and the bad stuff. 

But it wasn't fair to Tara or anyone else to have them suffer by proximity. Maybe it was for the best. Tara would back off now from her presumed friendship... and Oriana would be alone again.

Fuck.

Oriana closed her eyes and saw Tara looking up at her, heard her whisper 'Ori' the way Ginevra had. The way Lucia had. Back when she'd had a team.

Oriana took another deep breath.

Fuck.

Tara was in the woods, which would probably be the best place for her. From what she'd gathered, there wouldn't be a threat from any predators. And Tara knew what she was doing in there. Oriana was tempted to go after her, but... she'd probably just get lost. And after almost killing someone by accident, it seemed like a good idea to give Tara some space.

The sweat from the nightmare cooled on her skin as Oriana stared out at the lake and let her mind wander. 

Oriana walked down to the water, stripped off her clothing, and waded into. At first, it was like being submerged in ice, but her body quickly adjusted. She forced herself to dive under the water once, then rose and spun on her back to float under the stars. Completely at peace, she let her mind roam with the evening sky. Memories of all the girls on the project. Even Francesco's memories didn't hit her too hard. Mostly, she tried to think of Cristiana. Singing. The special times, when Sister had had enough wine to sing, but not enough to sleep. When she would sing songs for the girls that didn't come from the hymnals. 

Ori started singing before she realized she was doing it. Her voice drifted out over the waters. It was hesitant, halting at first; she hadn't sung in years, but by the time she had finished, she was the nightingale that Sister had been proud of.

"Cade l'uliva e non cade la foglia

le tue bellezze non cadono mai

sei come il mare che cresce a onda

cresce per vento ma per acqua mai

Lira larà la lira…

E tu se’ come l'erbo tenerello

quanto più cresci più doventi bello

E tu se’ come l'erbo tenerino

quanto più cresci più 'venti bellino

Lira larà la lira…"

The haunted melody drifted over the water. 

Feeling chilled in more ways than one, Ori swam to shore and quickly dressed. The dawn was beginning to break, and she resolved to catch a fish for Tara for breakfast- if Tara chose to come back. If the girl instead made a break for the car, then Ori wouldn't blame her. Either way, today was a new start.

The scent of the clean earth-filled her nose, loamy moss, dying leaves and a cool breeze from the north that cut into the intensity of the noonday sun.  Forrest debris, dry and brittle shifted and snapped under her feet, but it did not bother her.  Her focus was singular and so she pressed onward.  The trees held tight to their leaves, unwilling to admit to the changes happening all around them, but she could see it clearly.  Life was change and when the changes stopped so did life.  

Stopping atop a massive crag, she lifted her chin and took in the direction of the sounds.  Loons to the right.  Water.  The lake.  She'd not gone too far from the water despite what she had expected... the shore had moved with her which meant she'd gone further than she could see from the campsite.  A mile?  Maybe two?  With the run... two.  Yes.

The deer run she'd been tracing pulled left.  If not for water then for rest and food.  A field was in that direction or at least a glade large enough to make a sizable herd comfortable.  She'd seen no sign of other predators in the area... no tracks, no scratches or other declarations of territory.  Hunting down a deer sounded fun, the food sounded even better, but how practical was it?   The deer was big.  Too big to drag back and too big to consume every part of it.  And what if Oriana didn't like venison?  Would it just be wasted?  Tara lingered on the question for a long while and despite wanting deer so badly having missed it for so very long, she turned away from the deer run and made for the water.

The water appeared in what felt like the blinking of an eye and it surprised her to find that she wasn't alone as she emerged from the trees.  There, on a rock, tossing flat stones across the surface of the water was a man with a head of silver hair.  He was tall, not overly muscled but fit, and he smelled of linseeds and hops.  He turned to her and smiled, his bright blue eyes sparkled and instantly some part of her knew who she was seeing though it was utterly impossible for it to be so.

Tara came up alongside him, staring in awe.  He seemed amused to her as if he meant to frolic through the tall grass at any moment.  He did not seem old or injured.  It was as if every pain of age had been lifted from the man who surely must feel some pain.  A part of her wanted to run up and share in that joy... but her muscles were weary from the long journey here and instead she settled down on her haunches and tried to relax; content to watch the man throwing his stones.

"Well Squirt, I wondered when I'd finally get a chance to meet you."

Tara tilted her head to the side, he used to call her mother that.

"How is it that the smartest of all my grandkids has come to be so damn lost?"

"I'm not lost, Grandpa.  I know the way back to the camp, it's just along this shoreline."

Gavin laughed it was a musical laugh.  "I'm sure you can find your way back to camp.  That's not what I'm talking about."

"I don't understand..."  Tara said.

Gavin reached a hand and touched her just under the chin, causing her to look up a bit more at him.  He seemed larger than life itself.  He loomed over her like a giant.  His blue eyes seemed to glow as if by magic.

"How can you help the problems of others when you can't even figure out who you are."

"I'm Tara... your granddaughter.  You said you knew me."

Gavin took his hand and ruffled the top of her head.  "Go get a drink."

Tara was a little thirsty and so, she did as she was told.  Careful not to fall into the sinkholes along the shore's edge, dodging a particularly belligerent bullfrog, she pushed through the reeds and slowly lowered her face to the surface of the water.

Her grandfather's image was again looming over her, this time she could see it in the stillness of the water, but she also saw something else, the eyes of a predator staring back at her.

Tara startled and backed away from the water, realizing only then that she skittered not on two legs, but four.  She bumped into Gavin who was laughing now and attempting to reach down and calm the young wolf at his feet.

"Easy now... easy... you'll fall."

"Fall?"

Gavin knelt down, petting her around the neck and head.  "You're just seeing yourself for the first time.  You're leaving something behind and becoming something else.  It's growing up.  It looks different for everyone... me, your mom, you... and even her."

"I'm scared."

Gavin nodded.  "If you weren't I'd have to stop thinking of you as the smartest.  Problem is, the smartest always spends too much time thinking and second-guessing and not enough time making decisions and doing.  Don't get caught in that trap, Squirt."

Tara nodded and felt herself sinking into the mud.  

The old man gave her brow a kiss.  "Go.  Wake up, Tara. Wake up!"

Over and over he seemed to repeat the words wake up until at last they devolved into the sound of a bird in the woods - a sound that caused her to stir on the branch where she'd fallen fast asleep - still exhausted from a night cut short.

A quick stretch and a moment of trying to guess the time by the sun's position later, and she was down on the ground and moving back towards camp.  It was nearly lunchtime and Oriana was likely getting worried.  She had to talk to her, had to explain.  Grandpa Gavin was right, she was thinking about all this too much and she just needed to DO something.  Now... if only she knew what exactly.

As she came out from the treeline could smell the fish cooking.  She smiled at the sight of Ori over the fire.  She made no effort to mask her approach so not to startle her companion and instead began talking to her about twenty feet away, "God, I feel like I could eat horse!  Sorry I was gone so long, I fell asleep.  I hope you didn't worry too much?"

The waiting made Ori anxious. No, not anxious. Uncomfortable. She was half tempted to take the fish she'd caught and cooked and wander off into the woods with it to find Tara. But she'd fucked up. Again. And Tara needed her space- she deserved it. It was only fair. Her grey eyes snapped up to see Tara emerging from the woods. 

"God, I feel like I could eat horse!  Sorry I was gone so long, I fell asleep.  I hope you didn't worry too much?"

"Just a little. You would have been justified in taking the car and driving back to New York, though, so I can't blame you for staying away. And you're acting friendly because you're worried about me going crazy... I'm fine."

Ori took a deep breath and studied Tara's face as she spoke, looking for reactions.

"I think, considering what happened last night, that I need to explain a couple things. I don't want to talk about all of it. I'm not sure I ever will. I hope you understand that some of it's still kind of fresh. And I'm asking you to promise that you don't tell your parents or anyone else this stuff. It's not going to be anything that threatens them or impacts them negatively at all; it's just mine."

"I did a lot of thinking last night, and I think I want a fresh start. A new life in New York, you know?. I want to be able to start over, and I can't do that if everyone knows shit about me. But I don't mind if you know, if you still want to be my friend. Agreed?"

Tara nodded and moved to sit on the tree stump across from Ori. 

"Okay. Shit. Where do I even start explaining... so..." Ori was quiet for a long time, thinking, as if she'd never really planned on getting this far. "When I was twelve, I got recruited into a program by... someone. He picked thirteen girls, and then we spent the next five years training every single day. How to fight, how to shoot, how to kill. How to lie. How to manipulate people. Mental training, physical training... everything you can think of that could be handy for spies or killers. We were both. It kind of fucked us all up, to varying degrees. Over the years, a few girls died. Nine of us survived to be twenty or so."

She took a deep breath.

"A few months ago, I saw five of those girls die in one day. Well, I only saw four, but five died. Growing up, we were all we ready had, except for a couple other people who supervised us, fed us, whatever. There was one girl I was really close to. She was one of the ones who died. It was... it was all really bad shit, Tara. It's what made me go off on my own in the first place. Maybe I'll tell you the whole story someday, and I want to be upfront in saying that I left some things out just now because I don't want to talk about them."

"So... I have nightmares about people who had hurt me. Manipulated me. It's hard to shake. And I have nightmares about those girls dying. Last night was a really bad one. I did a lot of thinking, after you left. I'm not sure if the nightmares are still going to happen or not, but I feel like I've made my peace with some things. I feel better than I did before, which is something I guess."

Ori looked up at Tara, curious to see the girl's reaction.

Tara stared at Oriana, trying to put together everything said and not said, just like Brigitte had instructed.  Then, when her sharing time seemed to come to an end, Tara found herself nodding in agreement with her friend.  Feeling better was something at least, but Tara doubted that things like this would just... go away.  It wasn't something you left on the ground in the woods and just didn't get bugged by anymore.  There would be good and bad days for Oriana.  Likely forever.

She wanted to say something... but what?

Do, don't think.

Tara felt frozen with indecision again, the young wolf at a crossroads with what she wanted in one direction and what seemed logical and safe in the other.  

Do.

She stood up.  She didn't know what she was doing until the moment she suddenly did and she wasn't following some great tidbit of wisdom from an old journal or her sister's sagely love advice ... it was a page from a book she seldom took anything from, her father's. 

Tara eyes softened, she face relaxed, her body opened up as she crossed the space clearly projecting her intention to hug her friend - not romantically, but supportively.  To tell her she cared, that she wasn't afraid and most importantly that Ori wasn't alone and she was forgiven. 

Ori tensed up as Tara reached out for her, but she didn't shy away. She let Tara hug her for a little while, and even patted the girl on the back a couple times to at least give something back. She found herself smelling Tara's hair, and that's when she blinked and pulled back. She wasn't repulsed by the contact; on the contrary, she felt like an alcoholic pushing away an open bottle... 

Tara at least, would just perceive it as someone who sucks at hugging. Or being hugged.

"Anyways..." she tried, at least to get things back to some semblance of normalcy. "I've got lunch. Breakfast, maybe. Have some. Then we'll give you some more shooting practice. My shit isn't an excuse for you to avoid doing what we came here for."

They ate the fish mostly in silence, but a comfortable one. It tasted good, albeit not quite professional quality, but they were so hungry they didn't seem to care.

After that, Tara spent an hour shooting. Whereas yesterday Ori had spoken almost continuously, today she just added in brief tips and corrections. 

It had been a long night- and a long day- by the time they'd finished shooting. Ori crossed her arms.

"Three options, because we've only got a few hours of daylight left. One is that we stay here again tonight. I'll stay outside the tent or tie my wrists together or something, just in case. I'm not an idiot. Two and three involve us leaving ASAP and hiking back to the car. We can either head back to New York, or I've got that job in Philly we can do that you might be interested in."

"A part of me wants to stay here.  I feel more comfortable in the woods than I do anywhere else in all the world but... it seems wrong to make you sleep all tied up just so I can sleep under the stars one more night.  You're not an animal, Ori, you're just... human and I know I didn't say much about what you said earlier but that's only because how could I say anything?  If I try to pretend I have any understanding of what you've been through, it's insulting as fuck. Cause... I don't."

She looked down at her feet, "If I talk too much about it, I run the risk of making you feel worse... or maybe too little and I make you think I'm so bothered that I want to avoid the topic altogether when the truth is - I want to be what you need.  Whatever that is."

She sighed it felt strange saying all that but she wanted to get it out.  Maybe, she needed to?

"So... there's all that.  Woods good.  You uncomfortable ... bad."  She laughed nervously and looked up from the ground. "I do want to hear about this job though.  I still think I'd like to do it.  Whatever it is."

Something flashed in the assassin's eyes when Tara said "Ori"- but it wasn't bad.

"We'll stay here one more night, then. Even if I've got to put my wrists together, I've dealt with a lot worse. I don't think I'd mind one more day out here either, honestly."

"I want to be what you need."

Kid has no goddamn idea what she's getting into.

"As for the job... well, I don't think that your mother and I are fighting again anytime soon. But I need to start treating New York like it's my new home, not just like it's another stop on my long run west. Part of that is getting firmly into her good books- and I got the idea from that book of yours. It might be a long shot where nothing comes of it, but we're only a half hour or so from Philly... I think getting one, two, or all of your grandmother's rings back will probably make sure Mr. and Mrs. Mastrosimone have my back. I know that they did some initial digging around at the time... but if you'd robbed a recently killed Godfather and her famous-killer daughter shows up... wouldn't you stay quiet too? I figure it's worth doing a little digging, at least. What do you say?"

"Nona Bella's rings?  Oh God, that would... my mom and Uncle Will, well he'd ..."  Tara smiled brightly. 

"Yes.  I think I like this idea a lot.  It's a GREAT idea.  Really.  It could go a long way to making things better than just okay for you with my whole family.  Especially if we could find her engagement ring."

Tara gave it a little thought, "I'm not sure how we'd find it now though.  I mean, if you got ahold of something like that you'd probably have it locked in a safe somewhere that it never sees the light of day.  After all, it's rather recognizable."

"It can't hurt to look. It's not the sort of thing you tell people about before, but if you can surprise them."

Ori shrugged.

"I'd check that journal of yours for any clues. I was planning on just knocking on doors of jewelers and pawn shop owners, asking around about fences, but that might give you more guidance. Maybe some who hates her kept it as a giant fuck you. Maybe someone who appreciated her kept it to remember her. Or maybe someone just sold it for the cash. Can't know for sure until we ask around. It's possible that someone bought all three together and kept them as a set, but I think it's more likely they got split up- maybe the stones even got cut. I wouldn't get your hopes up, is what I'm saying."

"If there is one in the city, I can get to it. Probably. But let's see if we can find any leads first. Going to be totally different approaches if its in a private collection in someone's house or a museum or a bank safe deposit box or whatever. For now I'd flip through that book of yours and put a list together. Most of the people are probably dead, but you never know. It also seems like the sort of thing that people would have gossiped about, if they were alive back then."

The day passed faster than Tara wanted - talking about Philadelphia, and her understanding of it in the books, and her grandmother's empire based on her past readings of Isabella's journals. 

Aurora had memories of her childhood home and the people there - she had written extensively about them in glowing prose - but as Tara cautioned Ori that her mother had been a kid back then.  Race Street might as well have been a magical kingdom from a fairy story to her.  as Her mother's view of it was that of a little girl who had been sheltered from much of the truths which Isabella Byrne spoke at length about in her own journals.

In truth, Race Street had been successful, as might a criminal empire as Aurora ever thought.  And the men and women who ran it were veritable Gods striding across the landscape of the Cosa Nostra, but like the gods of Greek myth the families of Race Street had more than their fair share of paranoia, jealousy, pettiness, infighting, and quiet squabbles.  Every Godfather from Spaceman to Jack Mezzo to Aunt Tara to Louis Mezzo, to finally Isabella herself had spent a good amount of time not just tending to exterior diplomacy, but stroking egos and helping Philly itself to keep functioning as well.

To complicate matters... the Cosa Nostra, as Tara pointed out, wasn't the only game in town either.  On several occasions, especially in the times when power changed hands and wars occurred, gangs and even actual crime families tried to rise up in Philly right under Race Street's nose.  Some were considerably successful... such as her father's old enemies, the Tambini family.  They had burnt Race Street Pier to ashes in their attempt to kill Louis Mezzo & destroy Race Street, an event that stands out in both her mother and grandmother's journals as a fulcrum point changing all their lives in a very major way.

These minor families, these gangs, they all had reasons to relish the fall of the Byrne family - to want a momento to remember the fall of the last Godmother of Race Street.  Of course, maybe the taking of the tokens wasn't about being vainglorious - it could have been about cash.  The value of the rings wasn't just sentimental after all. 

Tara explained the nature of the ruby and the diamonds in her Grandmother's rings, such as she knew them... and recounted the stories of both how Gavin had given Bella the ring that would mark her as a Don and also... her Grandfather's proposal & 'rescue' of Bella from her father Salvatore's city of Detroit bringing her home to the place she'd belonged all along... Race Street.  The later of which she recounted with a passion for the love story that she did not even attempt to hide.  Tara had not known Gavin and Bella, but her mother and father's stories... combined with Bella's own journals, had given her to believe she knew them as well as anyone could and she loved them, longed to have a life like theirs really.  All of Aurora's children did, in some way or another.

By the time the moon rose above the trees the two had agreed that tomorrow morning they'd make for Philadelphia and begin their search for information.  Tara made note she might have one person she could go to in order to get a name or three about fences in the city who might move something as noticeable as her Nona's rings but she would save him for an 'in case of no other options' sort of call.  He was surely well informed but reaching out to him wasn't done lightly because "he's a busy man." 

When pressed for a name she explained, "Uncle Anton, I know he works for Uncle William, but I'm sure he's kept his ears to the ground and knows who's who around Philly if only to keep his brother safe.  He's like you, and mom, and Grandpa Gavin - all rolled up into one.  I've only met him a few times but I know he'd help if I asked him."

Tara was stifling a yawn when the two of them finally crawled into the tent.  Tara could feel the disquiet of returning to the 'scene of the crime' but neither of them spoke about it as Ori broke out her belt and put it into Tara's hands.  Tara looked at the strap of leather in her hands and felt horrible.  She understood why Ori felt she needed to do it... but she hated it.  

"If it will help you sleep easier."  she finally said and she began looping the belt over and around Ori's wrists as she was instructed to do until at last her hand seemed unable to move.  Tara secured the ends and Ori tried her hardest to pull and twist free, but to no avail.  The leather bands would hold true and her friend seemed satisfied.

Realizing that Ori couldn't do much for herself, at least not easily, Tara picked up the blanket and pulled it gently over Ori's body and when finished found herself looking down on the other woman's face.  "I used to tuck Isabella and Jack in like this when they were little,"  Tara admitted.  She smiled, thankful the dark of the tent probably hid somehow ridiculous she must look staring down at her companion like a besotted fool.

Do.

Tara bent down and pulling her hair to the side so it did not fall into Ori's eyes, she pressed her lips chastely to her friend's brow.  "Sweet dreams, Ori."  

And with that, she moved to her pallet on the other side of the tent and crawled down into her blankets.  On her side, looking towards Ori, she stared at the shadowy figure lying across from her in the darkness - imagining all manner of things she had no courage for, and might never experience.  She thought and thought and thought some more until at last her mind could no longer entertain her enough to ward off the sandman and she drifted off into the black abyss of dreamless sleep.

Ori slept more comfortably knowing her odds of killing Tara in her sleep would be drastically reduced. She could probably find her way out of the rudimentary bonds, but not before she woke up. Probably. As Tara leaned down and kissed Ori's forehead, the assassin froze. That was... interesting. Memories of a past life rushed at Ori again and, unlike her nightmare from the night before, these were more pleasant.

Ori slept well, turning and whispering- occasionally speaking- in her sleep sometimes, but with nothing like the drama that had occurred previously.

They both woke up much more rested and comfortable than the day before.

The fish weren't biting, so they finished most of their remaining supplies before a last, extra-long session of shooting practice. Throughout most of the morning, whether they were eating or shooting, Ori was mostly occupied with asking Tara about nature: animals, plants, tracking, and everything else that went along with a life in the woods. That topic endured throughout their long walk back.

They were both sweating by the time they reached the car, so the open windows on the highway were welcomed.

They were forced to stop for gas twenty minutes out of Philly. Tara rested her head against the glass as Ori walked to the pump attendant. Thirty seconds later, Ori knocked on the window right on the other side of Tara's head and motioned for the younger girl to follow her.

"Grab everything you need, let's go."

Trusting Ori competely, Tara grabbed her things and rushed to catch up- just as Oriana slipped behind the wheel of a big, beautiful red car. Tara rushed inside the passenger seat. Just as she slammed the door closed, they saw a confused-looking businessman walk out of the gas station. Ori floored it. Both girls laughed as the car continued to accelerate and merged onto the highway.

"God, my grandmother would have loved this car. What make is it?"

"No idea. Uh, red?"

"Funny. Oh! Look, it has one of those car-radios!"

Tara switched the radio on and, after struggling with it for a few minutes, seemed to figure it out. Soon, the two girls were flying along with their hair blowing behind them and some big-band hits blaring.

"Welcome to Philadelphia, Tara. I bet your mother will-"

The music died and the radio fritzed, soon replaced by a voice.

"We interrupt regularly scheduled programming with a special news bulletin: Senator William Byrne, junior senator from Pennsylvania, is believed to have been killed after an explosion occurred near his house earlier this morning. Again, Senator William Byrne is believed dead due to an explosion. Authorities are not yet commenting at this time whether they believe this to be accidental or deliberate. We-"

Ori switched the radio off and made brief eye contact with Tara, driving through a police connector to the other side of the highway, pointing the car toward New York, and flooring it once again.

"We'll stop soon, Tara. Call your mom. I'm sure she knows... but she'll want to know you're safe, especially after we've been out of touch for a few days..."

Tara sat staring ahead.  Numb.  It didn't seem real.  The sun was warm the wind so sweet... she was beside the most beautiful woman in all the world and they'd just stolen a fantastic car.  The radio came back to life with a happy tune and none what was said a moment ago felt like it fit in the world.  It had to be a mistake, didn't it?  Maybe they're wrong.  Uncle Volkov got him somewhere safe.  He's... he's not... he can't be...

She covered her mouth, tears welled up in her eyes as she imagined what her mother was going through in this instant.  Their enemies hadn't hurt Will or his family this whole time, not in all the years since Grandpa Gavin's death, but the moment her mom came back & she and her father took New York City ... 

She'd been right and never more in all her life had she wished she could have been wrong about something.  She wanted to take it all back, every word she'd said on the matter... all the fearful promises that if they came back they'd all live to regret it.  All the assurances that this course of action would lead to nothing but tears.

Oh... there would be tears, but assuredly there would also be blood.  Tara knew now this was just beginning.  More people would die soon.  Very soon.  

In a flurry of motion, Tara climbed over the back of the seat and grabbed her bag and tore into it and fished out the knife still in its old supple leather sheath.  She hugged it and sobbed.  

"Oh Mom..." 

Quietly she cried, not just for the Uncle she barely knew, but for the whole situation and all the people affected.  The world was again teetering on a fulcrum, and Tara couldn't say for sure which way things would fall - she just knew nothing would ever be the same again.