More than What Was Bargained For (Samhain)

Why people should choose to live in a city Amber hadn't quite figured out. There were too many people, too many buildings, not enough trees and not enough space. Distantly, almost as if it were another life entirely and she had been another person entirely, she remembered a time where she had lived comfortably, if not quite happily, within such a bustling mecca of humanity but that was a very long time ago. Times had changed, life had changed, technology had changed. She could not, however, any longer deny the human half of herself and, in order to reacquaint herself with it, that meant also reacquainting herself with life in the city. To that purpose, she managed to find herself a very small bachelor at the edge of a large park; paid for with stolen money and a little bit of intimidation. The area wasn't exactly what one would call affluent. It would serve. It wasn't like she was going to spend a lot of time there anyway.

The first part of relearning what it was to be human was to actually spend time walking in her weak human body with its weak human senses. Of course, in the city that was the only smart decision. As unusual figure as she made draped from head to tow in red fabric and as unnerving as her black eyes were to most, they weren't as unusual as a prehistoric reptile running around. Logical or not, she strafed at it. She couldn't see as far; she couldn't hear as well, she couldn't smell the things she should be able to smell. If something dangerous should approach her, she wouldn't be able to detect them until it was too late and once detected she was lacking in any natural weapons with which to defend herself.

When Amber emerged from her humble housing, it was dusk. Even with her layers of protection, she had never been comfortable being outside during the daylight hours, at least not when confined to the lesser of her forms. What if something should happen and she should lose her robes? It wasn't safe. Tonight she was going to hunt. While she could eat fruits, vegetables and other natural foods quite comfortably, her preference had always been for meat. One thing about the city was that, if she was a clever hunter, and she was, there were plenty of creatures who lived in the city that were easy picking. Smaller forms were better, of course, given that they were less noticeable. In the city, she preferred to hunt as a compsognathus which was not much larger than a chicken. At night, unless you were looking for it, who was going to notice a reptilian chicken?

When Amber got to the edge of the park she stepped behind a large tree and began to strip. By now it was a familiar pattern; her clothes didn't shift with her. A leud chuckle heard from behind her froze her in her tracks, half de-robed.

"Well..I'm kinda tired but I gotta keep working on this." The young man said as he sat at the work bench with tools scattered about. On his deck was a text book dedicated to the concept of biochemistry and another book on the wellness and health of human beings. His black hair was thrown about, sticking up after his drug his hand up it and clearing his forehead of sweat. Peeling off his red and white flannel shirt he threw it over at the wall, letting it hit and then slump down into a hamper of clothes. The tapping against the hardwood floor was enough of a warning to tell him that his favorite guardian was coming to check up on him for the night it would seem. The young man didn't take his attention from his studies, even as the clicking stop and a figure leaned against the threshold of his door.

"I still don't understand how a boy like you got along in a realm like that... fascinating to watch how you go from pre-medieval orphan boy to a post modern boy genius." The thick Scottish and Irish hybrid accent said with a little tone of amusement. The young man smirked and turned in his chair to look back at the rugged older gentleman and his brown hair kept properly, a nice suit on and leaning on his cane. "You really are quite an interesting little guy."

"Yeah well...you said my dad was smart so...Must have gotten it from him." The young man said with a little smile and a chuckle before an awkward silence fell on the room. Samhain made a promise to him to never lie to him, and he knew already what the boy wanted to ask. He was slowly trying to think of the best response to appease the boy while not revealing he perhaps knew a bit more than he was letting on. Castor was a man of his word...but his word was quite specific. Sometimes dangerously so. "Have you found anything else out? On my dad I mean... Do you know where he's at now?" He asked, Castor let out a sigh and shook his head.

"No, I've not learned anything new about him. In truth I couldn't tell you where he is right now except for the fact he's here somewhere in L.A... just...keep your eyes peeled. We'll find 'em lad. I swear it." He added with a soft and sympathetic smile before receiving a grateful one in return. Clearing his throat he quietly excused himself form the young man's work station with a good night and made his way back down stairs, into his pawn shop in Chicago. Yeah, the stairwell was enchanted to take him to a different location, but he needed some way to get between his home and his store. Castor grunted and winced as pain shot through his leg while he dragged it across the ground, gimping about with the assistance of his cane and contemplating the more prominent problems in his master plan.

Looking out over his pawnshop he couldn't help but recall that each and every single piece in here was an occult artifact that he owned and would eventually sell off to ensue chaos into the world and eventually re-collect that item for his own uses. Unfortunately his plan required a little more than some simple trinket crafted by some petty finite things such as a magician or magister that believed themselves to be of supreme power. What he needed for this plan to succeed was a person. He would glare across the room as if it were some form of disappointment and hobbled his way to the shop's bathroom in the eastern most part of the building. While in the bathroom he locked the door and meandered over. His cane clicked against the linoleum flooring until he reached the waste bin and moved it aside, revealing a small hole of sorts. This hole looked as if it were intricately designed to have something fit within it, a key of sorts perhaps.


With a little focus and pressure, Castor placed his cane into the slot and pressed down. There was a loud clicking noise as the entire wall began to turn with the sound of grinding and sliding stone. The Scooby-Doo styled turning wall finished its function and Castor walked now in a dark hallway before finding a room of old boxes and other occult artifacts. From there he simply walked to the back of the room, where a large multi-axis trainer with a seat in the center rather than a table. Taking a seat, Samhain used his cane and inserted it into the hole in the bottom ring of the device. In response the device began to spin, and Samhain was turned upside down before the floor opened up and he shot down a tube. Seconds of blinding speed before Samhain reappears, upright and seated before a door. Unhooking himself and pulling out his cane he hobbled to the door and opened it, revealing his truest sanctum. The dripping of water could be heard echoing as he looked about his underground occult sanctum.

In here his powers were strong as an eerie green and orange lightning bounced all over his form, sparking and bouncing from area to area. His leg was no longer an issue to him at this level of power and he tossed the cane behind him as he strode proudly through his grand arcane collection he had tried to hide from the world. Moving past suits of armor, flags swords, shields and gems all of a magical nature. The object he needed at THIS moment in time was up a flight of finely chiseled stairs he enslaved men to make when he was "renovating his man-cave" as he liked to say it. Walking up these stairs he would encounter a platform with a cauldron and his standard alchemical station. Then he's go up another set of stairs just to turn and find himself at a peak vantage point where he could look over all the cave, as well as the little "play-pen" where he kept his indentured servants. Before him, on a chiseled stone pedestal was a goblet made of bones, though the goblet seemed to have no conveying area to hold liquid, and there seemed to be a flat top. Waving a hand slowly over the goblet, the goblet replied by little black lines becoming visible as the flat top began to rise and in a couple of seconds he the lines had been small skeletal fingers lighting themselves to reveal an iridescent green liquid as a green haze rose into the air.

The pale green light cast upon his face, Castor closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, the grin haze seeking his nostrils and pouring into them as if a living thing. At the apex of his breath in his eyes opened and glowed an eerie green to match the liquid before he exhaled through his mouth, the haze seeming to leave with a more black color. The haze danced throughout the air as it danced back to the liquid and touching down in the center. The second the smoke touched the liquid it seemed to taint it, corrupt the light into a black, ink like substance with an ill looking purple liquid. The new corrupted purple singe cast upon his face, Castors scowl turned to a smile as he peered into the liquid. "Well now...let's see if we can't find someone with the very talents...I require." He chuckled to himself before there was a image in the waters. It was a woman, not to young and not to old. Very close to his own physical manifestation even. Cocking his head to the side with a smirk he couldn't help but notice that she had some company.

"Oh me, oh my. Let's see how this will fly." Samhain said snapping his fingers as his cane appeared n his hand. he took one step forward and instantly he was in the same vicinity as his "V.I.P" and the one whose attention was taken by them. Samhain himself leaned against the tree perfectly concealed and undetected by anyone in the area, despite not knowing of Amber's interesting power, the very nature of what he was. He himself was suspended throughout existence, liberated from all concepts and rules. Therefore he was not bound to the principles and concepts such as life, nor death, nor anything that would be governed by her additional senses.

"Now let's see how she deals with a rather...rough encounter such as this." He mused with narrowing eyes, fixating on the girl and her reactions from a substantial distance.

This was exactly why Amber so resented her human body. She wasn't large, fast or strong nor did she have so much as a few scales to protect her from damage should things go bad. She may have spent most of her adult life living far from human masses but she understood humans well enough to know what the man behind her probably wanted. It was dark enough that he probably couldn't see her well enough to realize that she wasn't exactly a specimen of health.

"Come on pretty, turn for your prince charming can see you proper like." Amber could almost feel slime dripping from his words. Removing the last layer of clothing she turned, not bothering to hide her nakedness. It was one of the first human conventions she had discarded; modesty. When things got dangerous it wasn't as if a few layers of cloth were going to keep her safe anyway, so why should it bother her if there weren't any? Of course, protection from the elements was a practical reason for clothing but it had been many years since she had to worry about such things.

"Well well, what do you have here?" The man, older with a pock-marked face oozed anticipation. Then he paused, for the first time getting a good look at Amber's sunken cheeks and visible veins under paper thin skin. "What the hell is wrong with you, are you sick or something?" Disgust warred with lust in his voice. Amber made no moves nor did she respond to his words.

The two stood staring at each other for a long minute before the man made a decision and lunged at her. This was what Amber had been waiting for and, reacting to his momentum, she grabbed his arm and kneed him in the groin. He crumpled to the clutching himself in pain. Knowing that it would take a minute for her assailant to collect himself, she took the opportunity to assume a form in which she could properly protect herself; her true form even if it wasn't the form she was born into.

Should anyone happen to witness the transformation, it was not a thing of beauty. Bones grew and shifted in grotesque fashion, skin stretched and scales and feathers sprouted. It was far from a painless process but, fortunately, it was brief. Where once had stood a small, pale human woman now stood a scaled and feathered deinonychus. While she may not have been any larger in her second form, she had the senses and natural weapons of a predator.

Amber's assailant recovered just as she completed her shift. He gathered himself gingerly to his feet and turned in anger towards her, swearing. She hissed at him, grinning a very toothy grin.

Well that just happened. This girl indeed had a rather interesting set of skills, even if Samhain didn't quite know what those skills were yet, he could see the base applications of it from this display. Many people wouldn't have viewed that transformation as pretty. Well okay, Samhain only knew of one person who would think that was pretty, but they were a freaky biology specialist doctor that believed animals were better than humans. That creep aside it was an ugly and gruesome transformation. Samhain found the beauty behind what happened BECAUSE of the monstrosity. The man seemed to realize just how much trouble he was in. Samhain let out a little hum before taking a step forward and appearing above them, sitting silently in a tree for a better overhead view of the gore that was about to go down. What a strange power. It looked like some form of...dinosaur with a sickly transformation process scared into his mind.

I wonder if there's something wrong for me wanting to rip his tongue out through his throat? Samhain wondered with a rather morbid curiosity. In truth the man was obviously going to try and force himself upon her, and so he had no reason at all to stop her most likely bloody murder and devoruing of this man. He actually loved seeing the delicious irony of watching the predator becoming the prey. He alwys had a rather wolfish mentality like that, one that only complimented his buisness-like professionalisim all too well. He quietly observed to see as to what the creature would do next, because the moment this man was out of the way...Samhain could finally meet this creature up close and personal.

Would he stay and fight or flee like a coward? That was the question. The second question was, if he decided to flee would Amber let him go or would she rip through his soft, defenceless flesh and teach him exactly what it felt like to be prey? She was hungry but, more to the point, the creep deserved exactly what might be coming to him.

Were Amber able to see in a fashion that didn't involve perpetual decaying flesh, she might have noticed the unhealthy white shade the man's skin had taken. She couldn't. What she saw very clearly, however, was the knife now held in the man's shaking hand. Give credit where credit was due, he was standing his ground in the face of a living dinosaur. It wasn't very smart, but it was brave. Sort of.

A trilling shriek uttered at the stranger and his bravery had clearly run out. The moment he turned and attempted to flee Amber lunged, teeth digging into into flesh just above his left ankle. The man shrieked in terror and pain as Amber ripped a chunk out of his flesh. It was ever so tempting to follow through with the kill and rip out his throat as well but she wasn't supposed to be purely an animal any longer. She was human as well and if some human conventions defied understanding, the one to not kill was one of the more major ones. Thus, she contented herself to let him limp to whatever safety he might be able to find, blood poring from his wounded leg.

Samhain watched as she took a large bite out of the man, one that made Samhain's lips peel back as he watched with such macabre interest in the odd sense of justice that was unfolding. Some may have called the man brave for brandishing a knife against a dinosaur...actually very few people would call that brave, most people would call that desperate, or flat out stupid for that matter. Samhain was actually enjoy watching this man die and then swooping in to congratulate the girl on a good kill. However...she seemed to be a little more "humane" than an animal, something that actually made her stand out even more to Castor as he watched her let the man begin to crawl away to a place he believed would be safe. Samhain let out an audible sigh before kicking his legs out and falling from the tree, though when he fell he somehow seemed to appear in front of the man a few steps, using his cane to hobble closer.

 "Yo-you gotta help me!" The man called out to Samhain, who just kept his eyes focused on Amber with a slim smile. He didn't even look to the man as replied when he hobbled past.

 "But of course Lad! Oh, here hold this for me a tick." Samhain said as he pulled out his wallet and moved forward. His hand phased into the man's chest and the man's face contorted. When Samhain's hand came out the other side, his wallet was gone and he continued to hobble to Amber with a kind smile. leaving the man to suffer a heart attack...because Samhain's wallet. Samhain stayed a small distance away and smiled rather endearingly as he appraised the creature. "Look at you...that was very brave and very smart of you. Very merciful as well, to have let him go with just a flesh wound like that... A true humanitarian, aren't you?" He chuckled a little as he leaned on his cane. He couldn't help but wonder if the creature retained it's human intellectual processes, or if it's entire consciousness altered to appease the prehistoric form she had taken.

Amber's long neck turned at the sound of the sigh to see a figure perched in a tree. She wasn't certain how long he'd been there but it appeared, now that she had finished with her would-be assailant, that he no longer wished to remain hidden. She watched, completely still, as he jumped down and proceeded to kill the man in a most astonishing fashion. It wasn't the man's death that concerned her, however, nor even the manner in which his death resulted. No, it was the unbelievable fact that the man appeared before her eyes to be merely a man. He glowed strongly indicating that he was clearly alive, yet he didn't age before her eyes nor was there so much as a hint of decay across his flesh.

As the man clutched at his chest and the glow of his life began to gutter and fade, Amber chirped at the newcomer, the sound birdlike. Humans could speak, dinosaurs could not. Humanitarian wasn't what she'd call herself; merciful perhaps. He might have died anyway, given the amount of blood that had been poring out of his wound. Regardless, his death had been earned.

One of the advantages of having a human body, even if so much else about it felt hobbling and handicapped. It didn't take long for Amber's human body to reassert itself as she let go of caution in favour of curiosity. She stood there, naked in the night air and clearly not bothered either by the chill or by her lack of clothing. "What are you?" Her voice was slightly hoarse with disuse, the inflections almost deadpan.

The strange transformation back into a deathly, gaunt looking girl transpired and then she just seemed to stand there. Her being naked in the cold didn't seem to hold much influence on her mind as she looked to him and asked her question. The question that Samhain loved to answer above all other questions, mostly because his answer somehow managed to be different every time he answered it. Clearing his throat a little he folded one arm down as he bowed in an almost archaic fashion. "I,  am Samhain." He announced himself before standing back up into his proper posture with his chest out and his shoulders rolled back, still leaning partially on the cane due to his inhibition.

   "As far as WHAT I am...well...that's entirely up to you, dear." He said before seeming to go slightly lax in his posture. "Am I a friend? Am I an ally, or a mentor? Am I someone you're going to try and eat? Am I an enemy? Maybe... am I just some insane human prattling on to a dinosaur?  I- personally-  would like to think of the first three options." He said with a little shrug. Ultimately what he said had been true. it was up to her to determine what exactly he was. The part she couldn't help was the fact that he was there now, and she had to address that. As distance and time had no meaning to him, he could quite literally follow her anywhere at any time, regardless of that bum leg of his. The thought of just playfully pestering her came to mind, though Samhain knew better than to poke a dinosaur...even as an Eldritch.

  "Before this goes any farther, I feel as though I should ask you your name. I gave you mine, so isn't it only proper to let me know yours?" He asked, trying to remember his manners...because creatures such as humans and the like seemed to like those.

Amber cocked her head to the side, almost bird-like as she listened to Samhain's speech.  Too much time spent in the body of a deinonychus, some might say, ancient ancestor of birds had given her certain mannerisms that might suggest a relation.  Fascination was what she felt and even with the man's strange unrotting face, she couldn't recall having ever met anyone like him in her past as part of the human world.

"I'm not going to eat you," Amber was quick to assert at the option.  All things considered, it probably wasn't an unrealistic option to list.  Human was not something necessarily restricted from her dietary options should things become desperate.  If the man even was human.  "And I don't think I have any reason to have you as an enemy."  The only enemies she'd ever had were either dead or long since lost to her awareness.  

"My name is Amber."  It felt strange to say her name out loud it had been so long since it had gotten proper use.  "Why were you here watching me and why did you decide to kill that man?  I thought most humans frowned on killing."  If, once again, the man was human.  Which seemed unlikely despite conventional appearances.

"Oh? What a relief." Samhain said with a little bow of his head, seemingly grateful enough for her not eating him...despite the fact trying to do so was a paradoxical situation in and of itself. She was indeed a very curious one, showing true signs of sentience rather than reflexive instinct. This was rather quite exciting, all across this realm Samhain had yet to find something with this kind of capability. Sure you had the conventional shape-shifter, however this one was unlike them. This one was quite special indeed, especially with the method and manner of said transformation.

 "Ah! Amber, The pleasure is mine." Samhain said before listening to her little barrage of questions. Of course he could see where he might have caused some curiosity or some controversy in his actions. Then again it wasn't as if the Eldritch knew this just so happened to be an anti-killing undead dinogirl, in retrospect he probably should have let the man go. It was of little consequence now however; all that mattered now was ensuring that this girl knew he was of no ill intent. "I was watching you to see what you would do, how well you would react...to see if you yourself were human, in some respects." Samhain said as he picked his words very carefully, trying his best to not allow room for mistaken words or tones. Clearing his throat he would then turn his suave voice back to the attention of why he decided to kill the human, and how humans frowned upon killing.

 "I decided to kill he man because he was a danger. He was a danger to children, more specifically. Humans that attempt to do such things as he attempted to do to you...they are a higher risk to children. I cannot...actually I WILL NOT allow that to plague the gene-pool.  Humans may frown upon killing, but humans will do ANYTHING to protect their young. A few exceptions, but not many." Samhain explained. He was being truthful for the most part, his reason for killing the man slightly more malignant than simply protecting children, however a charismatic man like him could pull off that slight stretch of truth without an issue at all. After all, Samhain was a lawyer, a business man and an Eldritch being...lies were nothing he hadn't already mastered.

  "What I'm more interested is why YOU didn't kill him. That's more than generous, especially after what he attempted. Did you not want him to die?" Samhain asked, morbidly curious as he began to put pieces to the puzzle together, the way she spoke and what EXACTLY she had said about humans frowning upon killing. Well she obviously didn't consider herself human, though she seemed to try and blend in. He wouldn't judge, he was doing the exact same thing...except with less care for human life. Perhaps there was something to this...but for now he needed to simply get a conversation going, examine the words she says and her posture in the process. With any luck he might have a new friend by the end of this...or another tool at any rate.

Amber listened to the enigmatic man attentively, eyes never leaving him. It wasn't as if it bothered her that he had decided to kill her attacker, after all her motivation to keep him alive lay primarily in the idea that it was the human thing to do. Even if he hadn't been an attempted rapist, life and death simply happened and that was the way of things. He wasn't pack, he wasn't family and therefore why should his death matter to her? It would matter to most humans, she knew that but the actual whys of it eluded her.

The idea of someone watching her reactions was more disconcerting, in truth, then the death of a stranger and brought up uncomfortable memories of the times she'd been imprisoned. Still, Samhain didn't seem like either the scientists of her early life or glorified the zoo-keepers of her later life. More importantly, he hadn't made any attempt to imprison her, something she swore she would never tolerate again. She'd rather die than be under someone's power so completely a third time.

"He might have died from blood loss anyway," Amber spoke reasonably, her tone suggesting a conversation no more serious than discussing the weather. She paused to think when asked if she wanted the man to die. Did she? Even after what he had done to her, did she want him to die? The question itself puzzled her. "I wanted him to not rape me," she answered with a shrug. "I didn't want him to die. I didn't want him to not die. He attacked me, I defended myself. I didn't kill him because humans aren't supposed to kill unless they have no choice and I'm trying to remember what it is to be human." It didn't occur to Amber that there might be any reason to hide the truth of her present mental state let alone that she should make any attempt to do so.

Samhain really didn't know what he was supposed to believe at the moment. That's what made it fun though! This was an extraordinary creature. Unfortunately he couldn't exactly read her mind, and so he could not put her to ease about the whole "captivity" nonsense. Captivity was not even in his vocabulary, well it was but the only captivity he'd ever employed against anyone was Ulysses for his grave failures. That was the only time, and the failures were so grave they nearly cost Samhain everything. The only thing this enigmatic creature could do would be to kill a very specific someone. Thankfully that wasn't in the cards as far as Samhain's foresight could see. That being said, perhaps it is best that he assist this creature person.

 "So you don't remember what it is to be human?" Samhain asked, almost sounding saddened. It was truly unfortunate when one began to forget who they were... but unfortunately Samhain didn't value who people WERE...he valued what they would become. With the proper care and instruction this girl could be more than a simple human. A social chameleon that blended in with the crowds and yes still indulged her more beastial shiftings. Samhain had seen disassociation of personal identity several times, finding it to be more common in these shifter types...but he could help her. The problem was...she probably didn't want his help...but she didn't know that, now did she?

 "Well if it's to be human that you seek...I have the answer. Because you see, to be human is to be an entirely different animal from what I've seen you shift into. Humans are not as...clean, they aren't as simplistic. It's not just about survival...it's not just about territory and the pack. It's a whole new world." Samhain tried to explain, showing he at least had a small glimpse at the big picture. If she truly wanted to be human he could help... but he was an Eldritch. He, by nature was at least a tricky an partially malicious entity. What if in making her remember what it means to be human he skewed her views in his teachings? What if when she finally knew what it was to be human...she didn't like humans anymore? All the possibilities ran through Samhain's mind with a kind smile. What he would do was uncertain, but he knew that if she truly wanted to remember what it means to be human, if she truly wanted the full human experience...who was he to deny her?

When asked if she remembered what it was to be human Amber paused before shaking her head. "I remember being human. I don't remember what it means to be human." It was those indefinables that she struggled with, the things that made humans different than animals. Some would say better than animals but she wasn't so certain of that. Humans might invent and converse and, when the whim took them, engage in acts of kindness and altruism but humans also killed simply because they were bored and created more destruction than any non-human could ever even dream of. Humans were slowly destroying the planet and only the very well adapted were thriving in a human dominated world.

"I'm not just human...but I think I need to be part human. I can't just be an animal anymore." That was something a little more difficult to explain. Had she not been content during her time spent in the Brazilian rain forest? Had there not been a certain peace in forgetting all the human concerns and worries? Perhaps, but having eventually been forced back into herself she had realized it wasn't enough. She was both more than an animal and less and that truth went beyond the fact that she was half-dead.

When Samhain spoke of what humans were, it spoke to the part of Amber that she knew she had to rediscover and also of her fears in the struggle to rediscover it. Simplicity was something she appreciated and that was something she was throwing away in her attempts to re-enter the human world. Worth it? Only time would tell, in the end. "I remember enough to know you speak truth." Just a hint of uncertainty could be heard in her tone. "But I think I need to do this."

Perhaps he had her hooked, perhaps she was just too bloody curious for her own good. Perhaps she craved, or needed to recall humanity to the degree that she was willing to trust a stranger. Whatever her reasons, they were a blessing and Samhain was thankful for them. "If you trust me to help you...if you WANT to learn I will never lead you wrong.  But it will be a challenge you won't ever forget. He was being honest, as he would not lead Amber wrong by intention. Accidents did happen and some events were unforeseen to even his eyes, however he could take heart in knowing that this my be quite the interesting team up. His mind was reeling by the way he contemplated what he would teach the girl, which aspects of being human were important.

  She was clay in his hands if the opportunity went the way he wanted it, and soon he would mold her into a perfect human, though perhaps that would not be such a good thing. If he could make an ally of this poor creature then he may actually be better off in achieveing his own ends. After al he sought to make the world a bit...different. Perhaps with a little humanity she would feel more inclined to assist him...or perhaps she would be an unwitting pawn that simply benefitted from his generosity and loyalty to his promise to her. Time would tell. They had a lot of ground to cover if Samhain were going to hold up to his end of the bargain, and he wanted to waste no time.

  "If this is something you truly want...take my hand, and we'll begin." He offered as he took a hand from his pristine and almost perfect cane, reaching out with one arm and allowing his hand to be exposed, tangible and all. If she took his hand... everything about this night would change in a heartbeat.

Amber wanted to learn, the intensity of the desire almost frightening. How had she gotten to this point in her life that she had become so removed from one half of herself anyway? Was it something that she could entirely blame upon those who had entrapped and taken advantage of her not once but twice? Probably not. Probably she had wanted to escape the unfortunate realities of her life and so she had run, figuratively as well as literally, way from that life and away from herself. She had found a new self to embrace but ultimately at what price?

What Amber's almost forgotten human self wanted was a teacher and a mentor, someone to help her regain what she had so carelessly lost. What her deinonychus self wanted was a pack and a leader of said pack. Pack she might never have, but here was someone who was offering to be her alpha, who was offering her a place beside him and offering to help her in ways she wasn't certain she was presently able to help herself. Subordinance came naturally when given to someone who both naturally took on the position of leader and also seemed worthy of that position.

"I trust you to help me," Amber answered, her black eyes meeting those of Samhain as she took his hand. She understood, on some level, that she would be expected to do things in return but that thought brought her no anxiety. After all, the way of pack was that they were there for one another, it wouldn't be right otherwise. What might be expected of her, at that moment, didn't matter. Only that she had found someone who might, in some fashion, understand and be able to help.