Shin sighed, leaning back agaist the tree of the dreamscape he and Gijs had been chatting in. "And there's something more that's up with Ariel and his brother that I know I'm just not picking up on..."

Gijs shrugged. "So ask him." He turned, addressing someone who wasn't there. "Yo dude. 'Sup with you and your brother?" He shrugged again. "See? Not hard at all."

The white haired boy shook his head with a small smile. "Gij, you've MET Ari, you know that wouldn't work."

"What are you asking me for then?" Gijs asked, sitting next to him. "It's not like I'm telepathic or anything. I'm just a psychic."

"Because I'm no good with people and I figured you might have some USEFUL advice, as you claim to know everything," Shin replied. "Part of your psychicness always seems to be knowing stuff you shouldn't anyway."

"You say as if I'm any better at that people thing than you are," Gijs scoffed. "I wasn't paying all that much attention to him, what with fretting over you like an overprotective puppy. I thought that's what you had me get the chicken girl for."

"For him to talk about the ghost seeing thing because he's convinced he just has hallucinations," Shin corrected. "Maybe I can get him to want to come back to campus to stay. He just... he has to get away from his brother."

"He's an adult," Gijs said. "You can't make him do something."

"His brother does," Shin scowled. "This whole thing just... it makes me mad, Gij! Bad enough everyone else treats him like crap, but when he comes in half frozen and upset because his brother hit him, and then doesn't want to warm up because the cold reminds him of his brother... It's... It like one of those crappy daytime abuse dramas that Sue-Anne likes watching."

"Oh come on. It can't be that bad. Sue-Anne watches the made-for-TV movies where it's always the boyfriend. I doubt that's the case here."

"His brother's a bad James Bond villan, Gij," Shin pointed out dryly.

"So you've said. But even James Bond villains love their mothers."

"Depends which movie," the paler boy returned before giving a deep sigh. "And I'm pretty sure he's got no love for Ari past loving what he can get out of him. He uses him for a spy, and then punishes him for saying what he found, and then smacks him around when Ari talks back. It's like Ari's his slave, not his brother."

"And you're sure you can't call the cops?"

"Vampire, talking Shadows," Shin reminded. "And we know how well the police respond to stuff involveing people with talents..."

"That's true," Gijs conceded. "Don't know what you're supposed to do, then. It's not like you can make him break up with his brother." He laughed.

Shin raised an eyebrow. "That's really sick, Gij...."

"You're the one who brought up daytime television," Gijs countered.

"But not like that!" Shin protested.

"Sure, whatever. Point remains that you can't make his decisions for him or you'll be as bad as that brother."

"I know, I know," Shin sighed, leaning back agaist the tree. "I'm just hopeing that I can help him see how messed up the whole thing is and that he doesn't have to put up with it."

"Good luck."

"I'll probally need it," Shin agreed, pushing off the tree to stand. "And I think someone's at the door. See you tomorrow night," he waved, making his exit.

He gave a long slow streach as he woke, rubbing his eyes.
 
 

"You're SUPPOSED to stay in your head, silly boy," Aralu said.

"I put up a gaurd..." the boy protested with a yawn, shifting to slowly sit up.

"You put up a stuffed animal," the woman disagreed drily.

"It told me when you came in, isn't that the point of it?"

"Next time I'll try to keep you from coming back into it and we'll see how much of a guardian a stuffed animal is."

Shin muttered something in Japanese under his breath.

"I'll have that translated by this evening," Aralu answered with a grin. "Breakfast, then training."

"In a minute," Shin sighed, rubbing his eyes again. He paused a moment, blinking in rememberance before looking around the room.

"Looking for something?" Aralu asked, pushing curtains open to let in daylight.

"Not really." Shin streached again, experamentaly moving his feet. "Is there any chance of me getting back to campus tomorrow for physical therapy?" he asked, consentrating on rotating his ancles.

"Oh yeah. That thing...." Aralu thought a long moment. "Well, you went back yesterday for the afternoon, so I don't see why not."

"Good," Shin nodded. "I'd like to be able to get back on my feet soon and it always helps."

"Then we'll make sure you get there. Jack doesn't want to carry you around forever. He has things to do, like Operation Wild Goose Chase."

"Operation Wild Goose Chase?" Shin repeated with amusement as he continued his exersizes.

"It keeps Gabriel out of our hair."

Shin nodded. "Too bad he can't do it for perminant," he muttered half to himself, wincing slightly as his back twinged. "Can't say I've heard a thing positive about the man..."

"Spending time with the man's prime spy you haven't heard anything good?" Aralu asked, picking him up and putting him in his chair.

Shin made a face. "Make that I can't beleive any of the good I've heard, as I've seen the results," he corrected.

Aralu laughed at him. "Quite the know-it-all, aren't you?" she asked. "I appreciate that - you remind me of me. Now, before we go anywhere, do you need Jack?"

"Probally," Shin admitted.

"I don't see why YOU just can't take care of it when you're already here," Jack pouted, stepping out of the shadows as if summoned by his name.

"Your a boy," Aralu pointed out. "I'm not. He's shy."

"Shy?" Jack repeated with a snort. "Shyness is an excuse to pull me away from my all important mission right at the good parts?"

"The good parts?" Aralu asked. "Like what? Making his head explode?"

"Not phsycialy..." the darker man grinned. "But you see, I've got three of the Zeros going around in circles doing the Will o the Wisp thing, right?"

"Incorrigable," Aralu said with a smile.

"I haven't even gotten to the best part, see! In the area, there's this weird old rock kinda thing, right? You remember the one, were we thought it might be something cool cause it has aura residuals but it turned out just to be radiation?"

"Yeah?" Aralu answered, leaning on the back of the chair.

"We rigged it up to be puffed up even more, so it looks like it's this funky artifact thingi that's hiding a secret entrance to some underground what not, which is actualy this old bear cave...."

"Any bears in it?" Aralu tapped Shin's head. "Your new friend might be alone in the world soon."

"He won't be alone, even if he does loose his brother," Shin answered.

Jack paused blinking at Shin a moment before continueing. "There's one, but he's kinda older, so he may have a sporting chance, but we'll see," he grinned. "But at the very least it should piss him off enough that he'll have a fit and bust the hornets nest that's hanging near by...." He rubbed his hands together.

Aralu laughed again. "Lovely. Now the more you talk, the longer it is until you can get back to him. Give Shin a hand."

"Right, right. Here we go, your highness!" Jack exclaimed, carefuly scooping the boy up.
 

"And with that accomplished, I shall return to my all important operation!" Jack announced after returning Shin to his chair. "If you need me, leave a message on my non existant cell phone so I may ignore you at my leasure." The man gave a half bow before walking into the shadows and vanishing.

Giggling, Aralu pushed Shin's chair out of the room and down to the kitchen. "Well, Gabriel is eating enough for two, so we're still getting rid of food even though his brother isn't."

"Because Ariel doesn't trust the food here. I should have Maggie make him up a lunch and send it up so he'll still eat."

Aralu scoffed. "Doesn't trust the food. We have a gourmet chef on staff."

"Who's a vampire. And he doesn't know how the food was grown or anything. He ate Maggie's cooking though," Shin sounded almost smug.

"Vampire shmampire. She's a gourmet chef, and she only gets the best ingredients."

"Organic ones?"

"How the hell should I know?" Aralu responded cheerfully. "Food is food."

"Not to him," Shin pointed out. "He only trusts food he knows where it came from and how it was grown. If what he said about how it's made is true, I really don't blame him."

"Bah. The man is insane, Shin," Aralu said, landing him at the kitchen table. "You can't trust a thing he says. What do you want for breakfast?"

"He's not insane!" Shin insisted loudly, half glaring. "Honestly, I have no more reason to trust you then to trust him, and you expect I'll trust you well enough!"

"Well, I've known you since you were itty bitty and still had parents," Aralu commented, grinning. "Besides, I'm the one who can help you out. You have to trust me."

"No, no, I don't. I have to put up with you, which is entirely diffrent," Shin returned, arms crossing. "I just don't understand why you say you dislike Gabriel so much, but beleive what he's gotten Ariel to beleive. Why would you trust someone's assesment of a family member that he treats like a slave?"

"Because it's not just his assessment. Gabriel has taken Ariel all over the place. If there was a reason he hallucinates, someone would have found it before you."

"Just like how if there was a reason for my insomnia, someone would have found out about it from all the places I've been?" Shin snorted. "And yet again, it's Gabriel doing everything. Always at his brother's side. He probally never had a proper temperature every time he went for a physcial either because of that either. If you didn't know that Gabriel made him cold by being near, you'd think he have something wrong with him physicaly."

Aralu frowned. "Gabriel's coldness only effects people he's not touching when he wants it to. It takes a lot of effort to do."

"Ariel was freezing last night. He said that he always feels cold when he's around Gabriel," Shin said, tone softening.

"...Which means that.... Well, hell! That's how he's doing it!" Aralu laughed. "Ok, I'll make you pancakes now."

Shin blinked in mild confusion. "Doing what?" he asked curiously.

"Since arriving, Gabriel's aura has shrunk. His brother's has grown. We were wondering about that, but you seem to have figured it out."

"So he IS doing something to make it seem like Ariel has no talent and is just insane then!" Shin leaned back in his chair, giving a long exhail. "So is there's a chance you'll look into Ariel being able to see ghosts now that you know?"

"Huh. I never said that," Aralu answered, pulling down a box of pancake mix.

Shin sighed again. "Just keep it in mind as an option, please?" he asked softly.

"He'd never let me get close enough to do anything about it anyway," Aralu said calmly. "Best I can do is watch what you're doing with him, which I'm doing already."

Shin blinked. "You are...?" he asked curiously. "But you said I shouldn't--"

"Dad's curious about anything that isn't the norm. Ariel making a friend qualifies in spades."

"As would eating, I assume," Shin smiled. "So does this mean you won't yell at me for hanging out with him then?"

"Maybe," Aralu answered, eyes sliding over to him. "If he gets in the way or starts compromising your secrecy I'm going to do something about him."

"Like deport him to Mrs F's care?" Shin sugested innocently.

"If he goes back to being his brother's bitch, I'm going to do something far more permanent," Aralu answered.

"Hopefuly of the getting rid of Gabriel sort," Shin sighed, looking out a window.

"That would cause.... comment in places I can't afford to have comment made right now."

"Even if the bear does get him?" Shin smiled slightly at the idea. "I guess it's just wishful thinking, really. I just... I want to help him. And I wish I knew what to do or what to say so that I could make it all better."
 
 

"What do you think of my puppy solution?" Aralu asked, grinning impishly at Hawk as she poked her head into the garage.

"A little warning woulda been nice!" Hawk half scowled at her, brandishing his wrench. "My cabin is NOT big enough for 36 kids!"

"But it was the safest place I could think to put them," Aralu answered, beaming at him.

The man sighed, dropping the tool on his workbench and leaning agaist it. "As I said... Warning would have been appreciated! I had to make 5 trips just to get them all here after I manged to get it okayed to have then stay! I could have arranged something ahead of time and not been worried something would have happened while I was going back and forth!"

"But that would have spoiled the surprise," Aralu answered.  "You make the most wonderful faces when you're surprised and I would have missed out on it."

Hawk snorted. "That's something I'd expect to hear from Nav," he returned, arms crossing.

"Oh, ew.  I'm insulted now."

The man smirked. "So, other than gloating, why are you here?" he asked, reaching for his coffee mug.

"I wanted to see how they were doing and study some of them like I studied your first puppy.  More research makes more information makes people listen better."

"Figured.  No getting em to Change if there's a change they're bezerk though," he warned. "I barely know half these kids yet."

"I'm not trying to endanger them," she answered.  "Far from it.  But I think I got enough information on that already.  Unless there's one who has a more advanced ordeal...."

"Not that I've noticed," Hawk sighed. "Half of them are stuck in wolf form, half the rest of them act as if they are.  I've barely managed to get everybody's names and faces down enough to tell which one's having a nightmare so I can wake him." He shook his head slightly. "One, I can handle without a problem. Thirty six... Especialy with the couple that can't be more then three!"

"Little ones are resilient.  If they haven't been tested on, those'll be the ones who'll bounce back fastest, and they'll help the older ones bounce back too.  Packs take care of their young."

"Tala's still in dipers, Aralu," Hawk pointed out with a sigh. "Inu's afraid of the dark,  Mati's alergic to something and I don't know what.  Ingid won't do anything unless Kayla does it first, but Kayla's afraid to do anything unless Ingid helps her.  The eldest is only thirteen!"

"Anyone older would have been fighting with their parents, so they'd be treated like adults," Aralu said with a shrug.  "And once they realize they're safe, the oldest will step into the 'adult' shoes and take care of the littler ones."

"I hope so," Hawk sighed again. "I'm just glad they like sleeping in a pile. I have no idea if I could manage that many beds...."

"They're puppies.  Happiest in a pile on the floor."  Aralu shrugged again.  "Where are they?  Might as well get this done quickly."

"Up in the loft.  And I'm going up with you. Some of the kids are really skidish."
 
 
 
 

"So here we are safely home, and Gabriel is out poking at ruins." For some reason this seemed to amuse Aralu greatly. "Can you get around your room all right or will you need help?"

"I should be able to manage it," Shin smiled, flexing his toes. "I got the okay to start walking again, long as it's short distances."

"So use the chair to get up the stairs and then you can walk it if you want." She was quiet a short moment. "Your door's open so you don't have to worry about it."

Shin nodded. "I'll probally just use the chair up to the bed and just get up to get to sleep," he laughed. "Physical therapy always wears me out."

Aralu nodded. "Stay in your head this time," she told him with a grin. "And after you've rested up, I want to do some more work with you."

The boy gave an over dramtic, long suffering sigh before smiling. "All right," he agreed before covering a yawn. "Though honestly, it's good practice and you said it's sheilded here."

"I'm still not pleased with you leaving a stuffed animal in charge of your head."

"He isn't in charge, he's watching the door," Shin protested.

"The point is that he's a stuffed animal," Aralu answered. "He's not exactly a big, scary wolf who could frighten away intruders."

"Isn't that what the sheilding is for?" Shin asked with a rather Gijs like smile.

"One of these days I'm going to disect a boy to find out what it is that makes you all so annoying."

Shin covered a laugh. "I know a girl far more annoying than any boy I've ever met," he returned.

"You're a boy. Your opinions don't count."

This time Shin's laugh turned into a yawn half way through.

"Get to bed before I decide to make you my test subject," Aralu told him with a smile.

"You wouldn't," Shin replied with a smile. "You're already put too much effort into me." He covered another yawn before starting down the hall towards his room, waving with his other hand. "'night."

"Yes," Aralu called after him. "So making you my test subject means I get to see how it all worked."

"Wouldn't be a valid controll subject!" he returned before entering his room.

The air was frigid. He could see his breath. There was a soft sobbing coming from a shadowed corner.

He blinked, looking for the source. "A-- Ari...?" he asked, floating the chair over. "What's wrong...?"

The redhead's breathing hitched. "Shin?" he asked, voice wavering. "I'm sorry. I'll go." He rose and moved toward the door. As he entered the light, Shin could see that he was very mussed and had obviously not just started crying. His fingers were pale and bare where they clutched his arms and both his jacket and the white shirt under it were unbuttoned.

"No!" Shin moved the chair to block the man's way. "No, you don't have to go...." His voice was heavy with consern. "What-- what happened to you?" he asked, eyes wide. He reached over to the bed, pulling off the top blanket before carefuly getting to his feet to drape it around Ariel's shoulders. "You're freezing...."

"I-- I angered my brother again," Ariel said, fingers digging into the blanket. "I-- I don't understand how...." He closed his eyes against further tears, head dropping to hide his face.

"He-- He did this to you?" Shin's voice was shocked as his brain slowly continued taking in all the details and putting together a very ugly picture. "That-- why---" he stammered. "Unforgivable..." he finaly whispered. His back strightened a bit further as he unconciously adjusted it, suddenly feeling much more awake then he had before.

"I begged him not to cast me away again, but he shut his door on me and wouldn't open it again. I-- I don't know what I did, Shin!"

"Don't blame youself for his actions." Shin's voice was soothing as his mind silently raged. "You didn't do anything that would deserve this... you couldn't have."

"He-- he said I was holding out on him. I don't understand, Shin!" Ariel shuddered. "I gave him everything.... I always give him everything...."

Shin paused. "Gave him everything...?" he repeated, remembering the conversation he had had with Aralu earlier.

"Everything he wants, he can take from me. Gabriel's is the only touch I can stand." Ariel shivered with cold, pulling the blanket tight around himself.

Shin's eyes widened. "But-- but he's your brother...!" he exclaimed, only barely manageing to keep the horror from his voice.

Ariel's eyes snapped up to Shin as though he'd forgotten that the other was there. "My brother loves me," he insisted, expression begging for confirmation. "Like no other."

"Not if he hurts you this way..." Shin's stomach was in knots as he now understood Ariel's meaning. "That's not what a brother's love should be...."

"He always says no one else would understand...." Ariel said softly, bracing himself against the wall.

"He hurts you, Ari! What else is there to understand?" Shin exclaimed. "You shouldn't have to give everything you have, everything in your soul, to someone who just uses you and hurts you when he feels you're not good enough!"

"I-- I should be better, then," Ariel answered.

Shin shook his head. "You gave him everything and he still wanted more... Nothing anyone gives him will ever be enough."

"I try so hard...." Ariel said, voice pleading. "I do everything to be worthy of him." His voice hitched again. "Why is it never enough, Shin? What have I done wrong?"

"You haven't done anything wrong," the paler boy soothed, carefuly sitting down again. "It's never enough because he's greedy. It's him who's wrong, not you."

"You shouldn't speak of my brother in such a manner...." Ariel said without much conviction.

"After he hurt you when you did nothing wrong?"

"I must have done something. My brother--" Ariel pressed one shaking hand to his heart. "He... he loves me....."

"Ari, you did NOTHING wrong," Shin stressed the word. "Just because someone loves you doesn't mean they're good to you or for you. It doesn't matter if your brother loves you or not. He hurt you. No one has the right to do that."

Ariel buried his face in his hands. "I'm so confused," he confessed.

The paler boy gave a small smile. "It's okay to be confused," he said softly before coving a soft yawn.

Ariel peeked at him. "I'm disturbing your rest. I should go...."

Shin shook his head. "No. You should stay," he insisted. "I can sleep with you here," he smiled. "You can stay as long as you want."

"You needn't concern yourself about me," Ariel said, looking down. "None but Gabriel ever do...."

"You're my friend, of course I'm going to be conserned about you," Shin pointed out. "Just because no one has doesn't mean no one should."

"I think you are as unique as I," Ariel said, looking at Shin in curiosity.

The boy blinked, not picking up Ariel's meaning.

"Mad as I am, none feel that I have value. They would shut me away to keep me from their sight if my brother didn't keep me close to his side." He looked away again, fingers tightening their hold on the blanket.

Shin shook his head. "Just beause someone is diffrent, doesn't mean that people should treat them like they were nothing but garbage," he said emphatialy. "Kim... Her mother didn't know how to deal with her because she was diffrent. She hurt Kim so badly...." he trailed off, expression pained in sympathy. "It isn't right. She didn't do any wrong, yet her mother nearly killed her." He looked up at Ariel. "You didn't do anything wrong either. Even if you are insane, you're a person. You have feelings and you don't deserve to be cast aside and hurt just because of someone elses's inablity to deal with the fact that you're diffrent. They're the ones who are wrong, not you."

"I-- would like to live in your world...." Ariel said, stepping closer. "But I fear that the world doesn't work as you wish."

Shin smiled softly. "You can..." he said gently. "This world you live in is so diffrent then the one I do. This place-- this-- whatever it is. This isn't how things should be."

"You would take me as your own?" Ariel asked, stepping closer and sitting at the foot of Shin's chair. "People hurt to be near, and I don't like strangers."

"They wouldn't be strangers for long," Shin assured. "You've met Maggie, Gijs, Kim and Dallas already, right? No one would hurt you, I promice. We have lot of people who see campus as a sort of haven because there are people who understand and because Mrs F views every student as if he or she was her own child," he smiled.

"I-- would go if you asked," Ariel answered, doubt creeping into his voice.

"If you want to go, you can. The invatation is always open," Shin smiled, holding back another yawn. "You don't have to make up your mind now. Just keep it in mind as an option."

"You should sleep, Shin. You're tired and I'm keeping you awake."

Shin went to protest, but a yawn defeated it before he could start. Finaly, he nodded. "I should... get a cot up here or something," he laughed softly, getting carefuly to his feet again.

"I often sleep on a chair in my brother's room when we're away from home," Ariel said, rising and standing uncertainly close. "Being away from him worries me."

"Because of other people?" Shin asked, very carefuly undoing his backbrace.

Ariel nodded. "Being near other people hurts...."

"Did being on campus hurt?"

Ariel considered. "The small girl alarmed me when she tried to come close. And the other girl confused me greatly...."

"Kim learns pretty quickly, so you shouldn't have to worry about her bothering you," Shin assured, sitting down on the bed. "And confusing isn't the same as hurting... right?"

"I--" Ariel paused and thought. "You confuse me," he offered after a moment.

"Because I'm diffrent then you expect."

"The unexpected hurts...."

Shin blinked. "Do I hurt you?" he asked, sounding worried.

Ariel looked at him, eyes troubled. "Not yet," he said. "And when I let myself think about it, it worries me more than what I see in your presence."

The paler boy looked utterly befuddled. "It worries you that I don't hurt you?" he interpreted, carefuly shifting his legs into bed.

"Everyone does at some point. Even Gabriel...." Ariel pressed pale fingers to his heart. "But you haven't yet. And that worries me."

"So how do I get you to stop worring?" Shin yawned again.

"I expect as you hurt me my worries will decrease," Ariel said, stepping back and then stumbling into a chair. "Once I understand what you're trying to get out of me, or how you want to use me...."

The boy sighed softly. "I don't want to use you, and I won't hurt you." He paused a moment. "On purpous. It's kinda impossible to never cause someone to be hurt, really. But you can make sure you never intentialy hurt someone." He yawned again. "Am I still making sence?"

"You rarely make sense," Ariel answered kindly.

Shin gave a soft laugh, carefuly laying down. "Maybe someday I will..."

Ariel curled his legs up to his chest, the blanket draping around him as he hugged his legs. "Perhaps," he allowed. "But I don't think it will happen soon."

"It might sooner than you think," Shin yawned, eyes starting to close. "If you want it to."

Ariel watched quietly as Shin fell asleep.
 
 

Shin stood before the doorway in his mind, hand posed hesitantly in front of it, ready to knock. He'd only really done this for Gijs and Kim before... but...

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and reaching out. "Aralu? Are you asleep?" he called, lightly knocking on the door.

After a moment, the door opened up onto empty space. Aralu was sitting in the middle of it in an easy chair.

Shin bit his lip, feeling abit nervous. "Do you have time to talk?" he asked, entering the room. "Ariel... Something's happened."

"Did he finally get his brother to believe you exist?" the woman asked, motioning the door closed behind Shin.

"I don't think so. But... I think Gabriel raped Ariel."

Aralu's eyes widened at Shin's words. "What!?" she demanded.

The boy flinched slightly. "He said he gave Gabriel everything..." he said uncomfortable. "But Gabriel went and...!" He tenced further. "There has to be something that can be done, right? This-- this-- this organization of yours... doesn't it have it's police? This isn't right!"

"For Gabriel to do such a thing to his brother.... Ariel told you he did that?"

"Not that he was raped... but he was so upset..." Shin bit his lip again. "He says Gabriel loves him..." Just saying the words made him feel sick. "That Gabriel's touch is the only one that he can stand... And-- and yet he...!"

Aralu relaxed slightly. "So you're just jumping to a conclusion about what happened," she said with a sigh. "Tell me why I should believe that either of them would do that?"

"Ariel was half unclothed, Aralu.... and half frozen. And he says he likes feeling cold because he feels like his brother...."

Aralu grimaced. "He's always completely dressed," she muttered, then said aloud: "Gabriel can cause those around him to feel cold. That doesn't mean that they...." She sighed. "I'm making up excuses," she said, shaking her head. "How certain are you?"

"I wouldn't mention it to you if I wasn't..." Shin said softly.

Aralu sighed again. "This isn't the outside world and Gabriel is very powerful. It will be hard to find anything, especially with Ariel being mad."

"But he isn't!" Shin exclaimed in frustration. "Gabriel's sucking everything out of him so that it seems like when he does have the energy to see the dead that he's just hallucinating! He's no more insane that Gijs is! And everyone-- everyone just-- just-- just treats him like some broken thing so that all he has is his brother who uses him for everything he can but since he says he loves Ariel and everyone else all but ignores his very existance, he's the only thing he has so Ariel thinks it's the only choice he has!" His nails bit into his palms.

"I'm tellling you what will happen," Aralu said calmly. "Even if Ariel would testify before witnesses that Gabriel raped him - which I doubt he would - no one would believe him. At this point, unless he got caught in the act there's no case and no way to do anything against him."

Shin looked down. "There has to be something I can do..." he said in a soft voice.

"You've done more for him than anyone else ever has," Aralu said. "You got him to eat. That's enough miracle for one man for one week."

"It isn't!" Shin exclaimed looking up again. "All I did was show him where there was food he could trust! That isn't a mirical at all! And it doesn't mean anything if nothing else changes!"

"You're not going to change a man's entire life in three days and without his consent," Aralu pointed out.

Shin was quiet a moment. "He said he'd go with me if I asked..." he said softly. "But I know that to him.. asking and ordering are almost the same thing."

"Even that is amazing, Shin," Aralu said. "He's allowing you to have power over him - power that no one except Gabriel has ever been allowed to have."

"I don't want power over him!" Shin exclaimed, voice upset. "I don't want to be like Gabriel is!"

"Not everyone with power is like Gabriel," Aralu answered. "Some are like your Mrs Ferdinand."

"But..." he trailed off before sighing. "This is diffrent..."

"Is it?" Aralu asked. "You say that you've seen many come into her care thinking themselves insane and being distrustful of others. This is your chance to show what you can do with her philosophy."

"We went to her first..." Shin said softly. "And I don't have her resouces... I can barely take care of myself!"

Aralu smiled at him. "So will you leave him where he is? Or can you only take care of a man you've called 'friend' when I do it for you?"

"No!" Shin protested, almost violently. "I want him to come back with me, so everyone can help! I can't do this alone! But I don't want to force him to come back because I'll be just as bad as everyone else was!"

Aralu leaned forward. "If he's put himself in your hands willingly, how do you know this isn't what he wants?"

"I don't know!" The paler boy tenced, getting more upset. "All I know is that he's being hurt and he deserves better!"

"And he's been hurt all his life. You can't expect him to come running to you when that's all he knows," Aralu said. "Sometimes all you can do is take the one you care for, flaws and all, and do what's best."

"He has come running... Twice he's been waiting for me in my room when Gabriel..." Shin trailed off, tencing further. "Isn't there something that can be done? Isn't the whole point of this-- this alliance thing that you're supose to band together to help each other? Like the school but on a larger scale? What good is it if there's nothing that can be done to help someone who's in it when they need it?!"

"And there you've stumbled across one of the Alliance's biggest weak points. It's to protect against external threats, not internal strife."

"Mrs F can do both..." Shin half muttered with a sigh, running a hand through his bangs. "Banding together does no good if people don't help each other..."

Aralu shrugged. "Mrs Ferdinand is... not Omadon."

"Omadon...?" Shin repeated curiously.

"Never mind," Aralu said, sitting back again. "Needless to say, he's come to you twice. He obviously wants what comfort you can give him. He's put himself willingly in your power, so he wants your help. Can you do less for him than respond to his wishes and help him?"

"But how?" Shin wrung his hands. "By just forcing him to come along to where I think he should be? How do I get him to truely agree to go? To want to go? It doesn't mean anything if it's not his choice..."

"So while you wait for his entire personality to shift you leave him where he is." Aralu nodded. "I thought you said that if you just did one thing, nothing would change?"

Shin tensed again. "I'm not going to leave him behind... And I don't know what else to do! Why do you only antagonize and never offer anything helpful?"

"I am not a helpful person," Aralu answered. "I'd rather you come up with your own solution. It would tell me more about how you think."

The boy gave a long exhale, visably calming himself. "So you want me to figure out how to help someone escape a system I know near nothing about that's been destroying him from the inside his entire life by myself?" he asked, tone bitter.

"To the best of my knowledge, your input thus far has been - and I quote - 'Do something.'"

"If I knew what to do I wouldn't be wasting time chatting with you, now would I?!" Shin snapped, agravated.

"I've told you what I think already," Aralu answered. "It's up to you to make the decision on what to do." She smiled at him. "Time to grow up, Peter Pan. Sometimes you have to make decisions on your own."

Shin was quiet a long moment. "But what if I make a mistake?" he finaly asked softly, shoulders slumping. "What if I make it all worse?"

"That's why you have people to back you up no matter what you decide," Aralu pointed out. "No man is an island, even the ones who live on them."

"Even you?" The paler boy looked up.

"Figure out what you want and I'll back you," Aralu said with a smile.

Shin took a deep breath, nodding. "Thank you."