Well you can try to sink down deeply
And find the children lost at sea
Find the children who discretely
Were killed in infancy

@rebecca - without glasses

Gael liked walking through nature. Sidhe was very beautiful, very remote, and the nature around it was lovely. Especially when winter started to fade away, the sun would shine but the air would still be clear and cold. In the early morning, she would sometimes go out into the garden and beyond the fence. Over the fields and down natural paths. She didn't get lost but she wasn't sure where she was going anyway. It didn't matter, her footsteps never faltered from the slow, leisurely pace. She had her wand with her for anything she needed, and though the breeze was cold she didn't mind it. The house was so stifling sometimes, it was warm and cosy and calm. It was filled with books and candles and pictures. It was too crowded with ghosts, too, and too full of emptiness. Getting out of the house was worth the cold, so she took days off work sometimes. Days in which she didn't even touch a single book. Brought food with her, and aparated when it got too late to walk back. When the sun set or it started to rain or snow. She walked about even in winter, knew the hills and caves like the back of her hand. She never delved too deeply into the cave, her mother used to say they were full of boggarts and pixies and ghosts. Lately, she didn't care much and went in anyway. She never found anything, only more smooth stone and empty corners.

Holding up her wand for light, she made her way through the familiar caves and took a turn she hadn't before. She took the unfamiliar path, but nothing came at her. Maybe there was nothing, truly, or maybe whatever there was recognised her as familiar. She had been coming here for many years already, almost two decades. Maybe that was why nothing attacked her, rather than that there was nothing there. It was a comforting thought, better than the disappointing one of emptiness. Still, the path came to an end, outside. Overlooking more fields, green and yellow. There was no one there either, but that was all right. It was mid afternoon, if that, on a cold day. Most people were working and if they weren't, they stayed inside. She didn't know if she wanted to talk to anyone anyway. It was a strange feeling. Being lonely but also afraid to have company. A sound above her knocked her from her musings and she turned around, stepping out of the mouth of the cave to look over the hill. Grassy and rocky, but more or less fine to walk over. There were forests nearby too, beyond the hills, she knew. The sound came from the steps of a woman, rocks and pebbles hitting together as she moved. Gael looked up at her, silently but with a pleasant look on her face. "Hello, there. Out on your own?" It wasn't like her to speak first, but lately she had been trying to creep out of her shell. To be more comfortable with others. She could do this.

For once, she wasn’t working. She was taking a few days off for herself, trying to hold herself together. She couldn’t let things bother her, and she knew that holding on to things would only make her more angry, but it was just the way her mind worked and she had to hold it together. Not for herself, but for Tess and Vic. She couldn’t always be perfect all the time. Not that she ever thought that she was, but she tried to be, for them. She felt at home in the woods and she was trying to be a person. Trying to find a place where she belonged in the world, but her parents had been right about something. Even though it had been twenty years since they had found her, she was still stuck in that forest.

Much like the one that she was walking through she knew the ins and outs. She could identify plants and birds from the look or sound of them. She could smell the wind and tell you how far away someone was, and she could kill them just as fast as she could allude. She was a wolf, a member of the pack and she knew where she belonged. Tess and Vic knew it too and they helped her, but they didn’t force her into things, like living in a real house, or trying to hold down a job. Most people didn’t understand her, for more reasons than her mostly broken speech. She tried, Merln knew she did.

The thunder came and went but no rain and she was glad for it but nightfall soon approached. So she set some traps for food in the morning and looked for shelter. She could make one, the way that Tess had taught her, but she had no tools with her, so she kept going. A cave was not that far away, and she barely noticed it, if not for a light that she saw. She stopped when she saw a blonde woman and swallowed.

She watched the woman, took in the way that she looked (and smelled) before she nodded slowly. ”I am alone. “ Her words were slow so that they would be clear and understandable. An accent of the French she had learned was there as well. ”You are alone too, no?”

Gael liked being outside, she didn't mind the cold and the silence and fresh air always seemed to lift her spirits. The air was speeding up, though, and cooling rapidly. Was it- oh, the sky was getting dark. There was probably going to be a storm. She hadn't checked the weather forecast when going out, but it didn't really matter. She had her wand with her, and if she didn't want to cast an umbrella charm, she could always sit in the caves. Some would think that to be questionable, with all the legends about the place, but Gael had never minded it. The caves were nice, if rather a bit colder than the chilly air outside. It was the darkness. No sunlight every shone there, nothing could warm up such a place. Staying in there during the storm would likely be worse.

The woman above observed Gael, and she stood there, allowing the scrutiny. She knew she didn't look like much. She was pale and short and she dressed rather demurely. She was just out for a stroll, she wasn't trying to impress anyone. Ever, really. Even when she did meet up with clients. What they saw was what they got. The stranger seemed to think she appeared harmless enough, however, because she spoke. Her voice was a bit rough, as if it weren't used all that much, and her eyes were wary. In general, though, she had a lovely face. Kind and full of character.

"Yes, I'm quite alone. I just came out for a walk." A few drops fell on her from the cloudy sky and she held up a hand to feel it. Looking up at the darkness above, she held in the urge to sigh. Oh, with a stranger here, she wouldn't be able to cast an umbrella charm. Not unless she knew for sure that the other was magic. Some people were good at giving those subtle signs, but she wasn't. It seemed like the cave was the only option. "Perhaps we should take shelter?" She looked back at the woman questioningly. "My name is Gael. What's yours?"