Lena Matthews

One problem at a time. Makaya was right, even if she ended up tipsy by the time I drove her home. I was surprised to find that her home resembled a small cottage, and not some sprawling mansion. After making it to her driveway, I forced Makaya out of the car and through the front door. Makaya was less than cooperative, and insisted on giving me an impromptu concert instead.

"Blue skies smiling at me." Makaya sang, ignoring the irony of the cloudy Oregon weather. The sun was barely setting, and Makaya was lost in her own mind. Her singing didn't hold the strange power I would have expected from a siren. Maybe alcohol had that effect.

"You're drunk," I informed Makaya. "You need to get some sleep. Or whatever sirens are supposed to do."

Makaya twirled, demonstrating some impressive balance for her state. "I am drunk, aren't I? Prohibition my ass. Isn't that right, James?"

"Prohibition?" I asked, confused.

"That's wrong, isn't it?" Makaya asked. "How long ago was that?"

"A... while." I answered, my mind blanking on me. I remembered learning about the Prohibition era at some point, but I didn't remember much. "Just go inside."

"They're lost." said Makaya, her words beginning to slur. "The Court's lost and scared and don't want to admit it. They think the originals will know what to do since they don't. They want that wolf you saw to mean something. It has to mean something, even if it doesn't."

"Okay." I assured her quietly, not bothering to process her words.

After Makaya was safely inside, I parked her car and looked for a way back home. I spotted an old redwood nearby and raced towards it. Slowly, I placed my palm on its trunk, losing myself in its endless connection of roots and stems. I could make it anywhere through this strange network, or at least it felt like that. The world around me became a blur of brown and green as I navigated my way back home.

One problem at a time.

The next morning, I was ready to teleport again. This time, it was to visit Kiara. Surprisingly, she had agreed to help me with what seemed like an impossible mission.

I put on my shoes and made my way to the door, Aurelie trailing close behind.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I'm going to see a friend. You need to stay here." I told Aurelie gently. I almost wanted to change my mind when I saw her crestfallen expression.

"Why can't I come with you?" Aurelie asked, tugging on my arm. Without realizing it, she had grabbed onto my Forbidden brand. My eyes widened in horror and I yanked my hand away violently.

Not expecting my extreme reaction, Aurelie tripped, landing on the hardwood floor with a painful sounding thud.

"Aurelie, I am so sorry." I apologized profusely, offering to help her up. Aurelie flinched away from my extended hand, and got up by herself. She wasn't crying, but I could tell from the way she was cradling the back of her head that she was in pain.

"What's going on?" Finn asked, entering the conversation at the worst possible moment.

"I'm so sorry." I repeated, still focused on Aurelie. "It was an accident." I explained to Finn quickly. "Listen, I need to go do something important, so.."

When I opened the door, I almost walked straight into Jacob, his fist poised as if he had been caught mid-knock. This couldn't get any worse.

"Hey." Jacob broke the tension. "I'm sorry that I didn't text or anything, but-"

"It's Stephen Gray!" Aurelie cheered enthusiastically, running to hug him before he could finish his sentence. I guess she wasn't hurt anymore. Convenient.

"I need to go. It's really important so... later?" I said, using Aurelie as my distraction. It's not like I could explain to Jacob that I needed to go werewolf hunting to prove to a bunch of Forbidden idiots that I didn't freeze a dryad to death while simultaneously being murdered.

I didn't wait for a response before escaping to Kiara's house. One problem at a time.

"You came!" From the way Kiara reacted, this might as well be a play date. It was strange to see her wear something besides her school uniform. Kiara's staple fedora was still on her head, and she was wearing a colorful button-down that she had tucked into skinny black jeans. If anyone else had worn it, they would have looked ridiculous. "Come on!" Kiara pulled me into the house enthusiastically.

Inside, a couple of flashlights, water bottles, and jackets had been dumped on a table haphazardly. "She's here!" Kiara called upstairs. I looked up to see who she was talking to.

"Hi Ivy!" I could hear Taylor call down.

"What's Taylor doing here?" I asked, confused.

"It's her house." said Kiara, shrugging.

"So where's your house?" I questioned.

"What do you mean?" Kiara asked. "I live here."

"So does your family live here too?" I probed.

"I don't really talk to my family anymore." said Kiara casually, double checking her supplies. It was like she was trying to look busy.

"Sorry." I said quietly.

"Why?" Kiara asked. "I don't need them anyway."

"Ki!" Taylor yelled from upstairs. "I need you to help me again!"

"I'm coming!" Kiara called back. She raced up the stairs, and I followed her without a second thought.

Like my house, Taylor had a balcony that overlooked the living room on the top floor. When I put my hands on the railing, the wooden beams started to shake unsteadily. I let go quickly. The railings in my house were made of sturdy metal, so they never budged no matter how much weight I put on them. I took a look at the fall from the top floor to the living room. Maybe someone at my house had gotten injured from falling and sued for better railings or something.

"Ivy, where are you?" Kiara asked.

"Be right there!" I called, following Kiara's voice down the hall.

The first door to the left was ajar, revealing a dimly lit room with a bed in the middle. The walls were painted the color of dark sand, and lined with photographs of Taylor and who I assumed to be her father in New York city, their faces upbeat and smiling. Even in those photos, Taylor's father looked closer to her grandfather.

Taylor was kneeling over the bed, and I recognized the man lying there as her dad. They both had the same thick brows and caramel skin, but her father's features looked weathered. His skin almost had a gray undertone, like he would crumble back to dust at any moment. I glanced at his hand, which was firmly grasping Taylor's. Old and unnaturally young side by side.

Next to the bed, there was a skinny silver pole with a couple of bags hanging from it. Vitals displayed on a black screen by the IV bags, monitoring every fragile heartbeat. I looked back at Taylor's pained expression as her dad gently tucked her short hair behind her ear. "Where did you go Sonia?" He asked. His voice was weak, but I could still hear a hint of the spirit that used to be there. "It's been a long time."

"It's Taylor, Dad." Taylor looked at Kiara, her eyes pleading.

"I missed you." Her father continued, unaffected by Taylor's words.

"I never left, Abba." Taylor insisted.

"Where's Nurse Kawaguchi?" Kiara asked. "You shouldn't be doing this alone."

"She was busy, and I'm fine." Taylor snapped. "Aren't you guys trying to catch a werewolf or something?"    

My mouth hung open, but no words came out. My problems felt inherently selfish.

"Can you just calm him down?" Taylor asked. "He thinks I'm my mom, and he hasn't let go for the past half hour."

Kiara nodded. I glanced at her, unsure of what to expect."Blue skies, smiling at me." Kiara sang. Despite being a capella, Kiara's voice filled up the entire room. Melodic tones washed over the room, brightening its surroundings in a way that felt grounded and real.

"Nothing but blue skies, do I see."

Within the first couple of lines, Taylor's father closed his eyes, drifting to a peaceful sleep. If it wasn't for the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest, I would have thought he had passed away.

Taylor gently set her father's hand down, and pulled a chair next to the bed. She opened a book, content to stay there for as long as she had to.

"Do you want some tea or coffee or something?" Kiara asked.

"No." Taylor responded, not looking up from her novel.

"One cup of chai, coming up!" said Kiara cheerfully, concluding the conversation. It seemed like an exchange that happened regularly.

Kiara took Taylor's stoic silence as a cue to head downstairs and get started with her drink. She hummed to herself playfully, but the melody didn't have the same weight as before. I walked a few feet behind her, still speechless.

The kitchen was small compared to the rest of the house, and it was a cluttered mess. I had to remove some cutting boards in order to find any room on the counter at all. Kiara loudly dug through one of the cupboards, looking for a small pot to heat water.

"Can you turn the heat on?" she asked, her attention locked in the cupboard below.

I glanced at the natural gas stove uneasily, but successfully made it click to life. I stared at the small blue flower of flame, and curiosity got the better of me.

"Ow!" I stumbled backwards at the unexpected jolt of pain.

"What did you just do?" Kiara asked, turned around.

"Nothing, I just..." Some part of my brain convinced me to try again. I looked back at the fire, my finger reaching towards it on its own accord. I winced in pain as I failed again, but managed to keep myself from saying anything out loud. I bit my tongue in the process, the taste of metal invading my mouth.

"Why would you do that again?" Kiara asked, shoving me away from the stove top. "Can you please just sit over there, away from the things that can hurt you?"

"I'm fine." I protested, but I stepped out of the kitchen under Kiara's watchful gaze. Kiara rolled her eyes before setting a small saucepan onto the stove.

"No one in this town is remotely fine." Kiara declared. She adjusted the heat before filling it with water. "I mean, seriously."

"What was with that song from earlier?" I asked. "I think I heard Makaya sing it too."

"Makaya got drunk?" Kiara asked.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"I used to live with her when I first got here. We were the only people who broke the family rule, so it just made sense." said Kiara, shrugging. "She only sang that song when she was drunk. But you knew it was bad when she mentioned James."

I decided not to talk about James. It wasn't a good idea to explain why Makaya needed to get wasted in the first place. "So why did you decide to live with Taylor instead?" I asked.

"Taylor shouldn't be alone right now." Kiara explained. "Dealing with immortality isn't easy. I should know."

The entire time Kiara spoke, her upbeat tone never faltered. She bounced across the kitchen to gather ingredients, unbothered by her own words. I used to mistake Kiara's bright disposition for ditziness. It wasn't. It was resilience.

"So what happened?" I asked.

"With my family?" Kiara asked. "My parents died, and I took care of them until it was their time. It was really peaceful, so at least there's that."

Kiara poured the water into the saucepan calmly and continued. "I thought I was going to live with my siblings, rinse and repeat, but then they had kids. They didn't want me around after that. Called me things like a 'corrupting influence' and a 'monster'. No one wants their kids around a monster, I guess. So I just went north and kept going until I ended up here. I broke the family rule, but Mrs. Pearce let me in on the condition that I 'watch' her daughter."

"Why are you saying it like that?" I asked, laughing at Kiara's weird emphasis on the word "watch".

"Watching is a pretty noninvasive thing. But putting things in Jane-Anne's head to make her as unlikable and isolated as possible... it's not watching. It's cruel." said Kiara, shaking her head. "Mrs. Pearce told us what happened with that whole attack thing. Apparently this lady had a problem with Mrs. Pearce and her rules, so she decided to kill her. But that psycho broke into the house and found her daughter instead. I heard from somewhere that they found her shoved in a freezer." Kiara shuddered. "The whole was thing awful, but isolating her is a bit too far."

"Well, you guys are good at it." I said, crossing my arms.

"I'm not proud of it." said Kiara. "And Taylor isn't either, before you ask. I think she just likes seeing someone worse off than her." Kiara added tea to the water so it could seep. She grabbed some star anise, cinnamon, and a few spices I couldn't identify and threw them in too.

"That's twisted." I said.

"Of course it is!" said Kiara. "Everything is twisted. Live long enough without the Agency catching you and you'll figure that out."

"Do all of us end up getting caught?" I asked nervously.

"You live until the Agency finds you. That's just how it works." said Kiara nonchalantly, stirring in some sugar.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The Forbidden brand." said Kiara as if it were obvious. She pulled up her shirt so I could see part of the distinctive F marked on her stomach. "It makes sure that you die at the hand of another, be it an agent, Forbidden, or someone else. But it's always an agent." Kiara sighed. "Almost always." she amended.

"I used to daydream about storming right into  the Agency's headquarters and saying, 'hey, it's been a good run, but I'm  done now.'" Kiara continued, smiling as if she was watching the moment unfold before her eyes.  "No Forbidden gets to die in a way where they have control or  dignity. But if I could be the first..."

Kiara paused before adding milk. "But I'd never do that.  It's just one of those crazy fantasies you play out in your head  sometimes, you know?"

"Is there really no other way?" I asked. Kiara shrugged, but didn't give me an answer. Instead, she focused on straining the tea into three cups, and left to deliver one for Taylor. I looked down at my drink, thinking about what she had said.

Kiara had no idea that another Forbidden had already been inside the Agency's headquarters. Was that really all they wanted? A death with dignity? At the cost of every Forbidden in this town?

It was a logic that didn't make any more sense than what Mrs. Pearce was doing to Jane-Anne.

One problem at a time. I needed to track down a freaking werewolf.

A/N: I feel like Kiara has been the least talked about character so far, so I hope you guys enjoyed exploring her character a little more! We also got a glimpse of Makaya under the influence, and what appears to be her theme song. And finally, one of the most infamous characters so far: Taylor Armani. She stands out as fairly controversial, so I'd love to know if this chapter changes the way you see her.

QOTD: Will Lena and Kiara actually find a werewolf?