Shadowsouled

Ashallia sat on a stool in her Dad's old workshop, carefully filing the edges of the intricate metal piece she'd just created. She wiped her tear-stained cheek with the back of her hand. She always missed him more when she was here, in his space, but especially now. She felt so alone. Liam had dumped her, and so had all her 'popular' friends the moment they realised he had. And her closest friends had resented her the moment she began dating him. She missed them too. Alena was always so bright and infectiously upbeat, and Jacinta had always understood her better than almost anyone. Anyone except her Dad. She looked around at all of his old tools and workbenches, and wiped another falling tear. Dating Liam had been the worst mistake of her life, and she hated him for it. She'd fallen hard for him though, or at least for the charming facade he'd put on to get her to date him in the beginning. She hated him for that, too. 'Ugh

Ashallia turned down the alley behind Pete's Place, heading towards the back entrance. She'd managed to walk here without seeing anyone she knew, thankfully, and hoped the night would continue that way. She left her things in her locker, then put on her apron, and tied her curls up into a loose bun. Charlie was the chef on tonight, and he smiled at her as she walked through the kitchen, towards the front of house "Hey Ash, how's things?"She forced a smile, with just a "Hey Charlie" in response. Charlie was a decent guy, and always friendly to her, but she didn't want to face the questions tonight. After a quick hi to the other kitchen staff, she grabbed an order pad and pen, tucked them into her apron pocket, and headed through to the front, where her heart dropped to her stomach. Liam and his friends were seated in one of the booths, along with Kacey, who she'd found him with at Paige's party, on Saturday night. That was when he'd dumped her.

Pete's was pretty quiet tonight, so Ashallia worked through her tasks pretty quickly and with few interruptions, albeit with continued stares from the man in the corner. Kacey had come over and tried to order her around once, with a sly smirk on her face, but Josh had stepped in quickly, which had quickly wiped it off her tanned, sulky face. Ash was sure Kacey would have loved to find a way to make her work life horrible, but neither Josh nor Pete were giving her a chance. She was grateful to them both. Pete pulled her side a couple of hours before close, after Liam and Kacey, and their friends had left, "Hey kiddo, I've gotta head off. Charlie's in charge for close, but I'm only a phone call away if you ever need me, okay?" She smiled warmly at him, "Thanks Pete, I appreciate it." He smiled back, then left through the kitchen. Only moments after she'd heard Pete's loud bike pulling away, the front door opened, and she immediately

The moment he saw her step out from the kitchen, he knew she was responsible for this nightmarish sensation he'd been feeling since he woke up.It was coming from her, and drawing him to her. At this distance, it was taking all too much effort from him to resist its powerful pull, and that kept him constantly on edge.What kind of being was she, that she could cause this strong an effect on one like him? On a human, he could understand, they likely wouldn't even sense what was happening. But he was far from human, and despite her appearing so innocent and unaware, it seemed the same was true of her. Both furious and intrigued, he sat silently, watching her closely all evening. He noticed her face when she saw the people at the other table, noticed the other server making sure they didn't bother her, noticed those sleazebags hitting on her - which only made him angrier, both at them, and that whatever she was doing made him feel somehow protective of her.

Lukas turned off the highway at Violet Cove, refuelling his bike at the first service station he found, near the edge of town, before continuing on to the address his brother had given him. As he pulled in, one of the garage doors lifted, and he noticed that their other brother was already here. He smiled, it would be good to have the three of them together again, even if only for a week or so. The roller door closed again as he parked his bike and dismounted, heading for the door he assumed led into the house itself. It opened before he got there, and his older brother filled the frame, leaning against it with a grin. "Little brother," he said, happy to see him. Lukas walked over to him, grabbing his outstretched hand and pulling him into a casual hug. "Mikael," he said, with a grin, "it's been far too long, big brother." Mikael nodded, more solemnly, "Too long indeed," and turned to head inside. Lukas followed, dropping his backp