Anxiety

Aidan had barely left her room at Nevermore. Her fear of what happened that night gnawed at her heels. She simply did not understand what had happened. She did not understand Deirdre or his intentions. One moment he was cruel... cold... and the next he was kind and gentle. However, the kiss still burned on her lips, and her body ached deep inside in need. She would have given him anything in that moment, but something inside of her snapped when he pulled her leg to his hip. Something snapped inside of her that once had been stable. Now, she was flooded with confusion, sorrow, and anxiety. She could not face him, not like this. It was a feeling she hated, and she certainly was not used to. She found herself needing to escape away from him before she drowned in her own self-doubt and pity once again.

Biting onto her bottom lip, she leaned herself against the wall of her bedroom. Her eyes flickered along the boxed room as she decided on her next move. She needed to get back on track. She was not here to play a love slave. She was not here to have fun. She had been here to find out about her brother, but because of the lack of ID she was stuck in this faction. Deirdre, however, she found had no trouble getting around. This man was powerful. She wanted to know more about him. Perhaps, he would know... No, she could not trust him. Not after what happened on the ship.

Forcing those thoughts away, Aidan pulled herself from the wall and moved to smooth down her blood red tanktop. She pulled a black leather jacket over it before slipping on some black leather fingerless gloves. She already had jeans on along with some black boots. Slipping fingers through her hair, she smoothed groomed it out and pulled it into a pony tail. She let some loose strands play around her face, but not enough they got in the way of her sight. Reaching down, she picked up a black bag to throw onto her shoulder before she moved towards the door. There, she placed her ear against it to listen for anyone outside. She heard nothing, thus slowly she parted the door to peek outside. The hallway was empty, so with careful steps she moved from the door. She slowly closed the door.. careful.. careful.. and then slightly smiling when it was fully closed without so much as a peep. With that, Aidan turned around just in time to scream.

Leaning against the wall playing on the phone was no other than Hunter. He wore black pants, a black tanktop, but otherwise he was bare. He had no shoes on, no socks, and his hair had not been styled. It remained a bit of a mess, which was not like him at all. Aidan frowned abit at that. He must had heard her, but how she did not know. Glancing up, Hunter turned his phone off and shoved it into his pocket. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned back with a smirk. "And where are you going?"

The sound of another person's voice almost hurt her ears. It had been awhile. She had been in silence since what happened, and she had been stubborn to change that fact. It was only boredom and a clear conscious that she had pulled herself from the prison. "I'm leaving, simple." She stated and holding her chin held high she turned from him. Starting down the hallway, Hunter watched her for a moment.

However, his orders had been clear. She was not to leave or at least not without him. "You know, running away won't do anything... mainly all marked up as you are." Hunter chuckled under his breath as he watched the pale skin on her neck begin to turn a bright cheery red.

Her hand snapped up and covered the marked skin on her neck. She had forgotten it... where Deirdre had suckled and bitten her to leave the mark. Next time she saw him, she vowed to kick him in the balls for it. "Watch me." She snarled deeply in her throat and threw up her hand to flip him off. Thus, she started down the hallway again as she listened to his soft chuckles.

Although, little did she know he had pulled his cell out and placed it against his ear. "She's heading out." Hunter had smiled at the response and ended the call. Watching her, he waved with the knowledge she would have hell to pay for leaving. Things were starting to get interesting.

---

The breath of fresh air washed over Aidan. It was just barely day break, and the sight of the sun warmed her skin. The whip of the wind left goose bumps, despite her coat. It was a nice feeling that she had missed. She hated being locked up for too long, and she had often spent her time outside even at home. Although, she was not homesick in the least. She had come to not mind the underbelly of the Kingdom of Wind. It was a nice difference that allowed her to experience... something other than a cage. The sights and the people that lined the streets gave way to the notion the world was much bigger than she thought. Despite that, she still shoved her hands into her pockets with full knowledge of where she was. It would be easy for her to turn into a target if she was not careful. From experience though, she would need to be alone or be in the wrong place at the wrong time for someone to be open about it. Even here, people did not outright take advantage of others.

It made a strange combination. The kingdom was corrupted to the core, yet it was held at its own rules. She did not know those rules, thus each step meant she needed to be careful. Each step could mean trouble. Brushing her tongue along her bottom lip, Aidan glanced around slowly as she tried to think of her next move. She had come here to find out about her brother. She did not know much of what he was doing here, but she did know he often sent back gifts. Which meant, she could perhaps follow through regarding the stores. Debating back and forth, she recalled exactly what he sent back. Books, jewelry, stuffed animals, knickknacks, and sometimes she had seen boxes her parents refused to share. She often was stuck with the gifts her parents or siblings did not want. Aidan slowed down as her eyes stopped a small shop. Turning, she blinked at the glass window as she stepped forward. Stuffed animals lined the window; dogs, cats, fish, lions, lizards, and even bears. Her eyes found one though she knew well. It was a small white tiger.

Aidan smiled a tiny bit at the memory. It had been her favorite one. She loved it, but something about this one did not look right. She could not put her finger on it. It was about the size of a small dog... with bead eyes and a bead nose. Glancing up at the store name, she saw it said 'Animal Land' which made her head tilt. For a second, she debated on entering the shop. Something inside of her clenched... This sick feeling... she did not understand it, and she found herself clenching her jaw. It was just a regular looking shop. It was a brick building with a glass display. She could see the inside was tiny with the right and left side walls containing shelves of stuffed animals. The back wall held a single register to check people out, but she saw no one there. Instead, she saw a mother and her kid looking about at the different stuffed animals. After a few moments, she stopped a smaller section of play sets, and a few other toys. In the corner of the room were life sized stuffed animals, that were all piled together to make it hard to make them all out.

Finally, Aidan pushed the door open with a small ding. Stepping inside, without looking at anyone, she walked over to the tigers. She picked one up and looked for a tag, anything. She only found the tag on the ear that said the store's name. She did not remember it, but for sure this was her tiger. It was the store it was bought, but... the stuffed animal was too... firm. The one her brother had gotten her was squishy to the point it usually fell in on itself. More so... flipping it over, she did not see the stitch that went across its stomach. It was solid. She didn't understand. Perhaps, he really did get it from another place.

"Can I help you with anything ma'am?" Aidan turned her eyes to the store clerk. It was a young man. Not just anyone though. It was Alexia. Blinking in surprise, Aidan dropped the tiger to the ground. "Aidan.. Um... this is a surprise." Unlike at the party, he was in simple wear. He had on a long sleeved white shirt with black jeans. He wore black tennis shoes that did not look quite right. His hair had been groomed, but still looked a slight mess. A still lingering bruise laid on his jawline. It was greenish with a yellow outline. It looked better than black and purple she supposed.

Aidan glanced from him to the outside, along the room and quickly felt her heart begin to pound. If Deirdre saw them, she feared he might actually kill Alexia this time. "I... should be going." Turning away, she started to move away.

"Aidan, wait!" She froze at the sound of her name before glancing back at the man. With sadden eyes, he had leaned down to pick up the white tiger. His hands gently patted away the dirt and dust from the creature. Turning the animal to face her, he held it out to her. "Take it. You seemed to like it." Smiling slightly, the male waited.

She, on the other hand, hesitated. Something about... this situation did not feel right. Why were alarm bells screeching in her head? Why did it bother her so much about the stuffed tiger? Why was fear gripping her throat? Slowly, she turned back to him and reached out. Her hand brushed his cool skin as she took the animal. She shivered from his touch before pulling it to hold against her chest. "Thank you." She mumbled as her eyes half closed. The creature felt foreign in her hands. It was not the one her brother had given her, and she hated that.

"You are most welcome, my lady." Teasingly, he placed a hand across his chest and bowed. Although, he peeked up with a raised eyebrow.

"Alexia?" Aidan hesitated as she glanced behind her again in hopes no one was watching them. "Are these sold anywhere else?"

Alexia straightened up in confusion. "No, they are handmade by my company. Why do you ask?"

Aidan shook her head. "No reason." With that, she backed out of the store and moved down the street. She did not know why, but she feared something was just not adding up.