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Shiara looked at Miyu silently for several long seconds, and then she glanced at Ahren. Ahren nodded and smiled at her encouragingly, though he also said nothing. Then Shiara looked back at Miyu and blinked slowly. "Shiara," she said quietly, in a voice almost too soft to hear.

Shiara kept looking at Miyu, and then at Haradhel, and then she reached up and pulled the blanket more tightly around her shoulders, almost as if she were trying to hide herself with it.

"Might want to give her a bit of space," Ahren murmured, his tone a bit worried.

Haradhel took a step back, and Shiara relaxed slightly, though she did keep a wary eye on Miyu as she began to eat the food that Haradhel had brought her.

Shiara kept eating in silence, and once the plate was empty (which didn't take long, even with how full the plate had been) she pushed it aside and finished off her drink. Once she was completely finished, she pulled the blanket tighter around herself again.

Haradhel looked at her pityingly. "Would you like a warm bath?" she asked softly. When Shiara didn't answer, she sighed. "You should at least get some warm clothes on," she murmured. "There, Miyu brought you some ... why don't we take you upstairs so that you can get changed?"

"It's all right, Shiara," Ahren spoke up softly. "No one's going to hurt you, you have my word."

Shiara hesitated a moment longer, then reached out and picked up the clothes and the blanket that Miyu had brought down for her. Holding them tightly to her chest, she rose to her feet and looked at Haradhel anxiously.

"This way," Haradhel smiled at the girl. She moved to put one hand on Shiara's back to guide her forward, but Shiara dropped what she was carrying and jerked away from her.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed, wrapping her arms around herself and shrinking back from her. "Don't - don't touch me ..." She whimpered softly, and began to cry.

Haradhel was taken completely by surprise, and she just stood there, stunned. She had never had such a reaction, never in all the decades that they had been rescuing people ...

Ahren sighed and stepped forward, and picked up everything that Shiara had dropped. "She's been terribly mistreated," he told Haradhel softly as he handed everything back to Shiara. "She's going to need time and space ... and a lot of both."

Shiara wiped the tears from her cheeks as she took the items back from Ahren, and hugged them tightly to her once again.

Haradhel nodded slowly. "I'll go ahead and get a warm bath ready," she murmured. "Ahren, perhaps it's best if you're the one to bring her upstairs ..."

As she left the room, Ahren looked at Miyu. "You might want to make sure no one is going to be around," he requested apologetically. "I think it's best if we avoid any more incidents."

Ahren sighed softly. "It's not going to be a quick report," he murmured. "Let me take Shiara up to the bath, and then I'll meet your grandfather down here, all right? We can talk while Shiara's washing up."

He turned his attention to Shiara. "If you need help bathing, Mother can assist you," he told her. "She won't hurt you ... ever. She's here to help you, just like me, and I can't help you in the bath."

Shiara nodded, though she still seemed to be crying. It wasn't as if she was choosing not to trust anyone ... it was simply a reaction.

Ahren held one hand out to her. "Come, now," he murmured softly. "Mother will be waiting for you."

Shiara opened her eyes and stared at his hand for several moments, as if afraid he was going to bite her, and then slowly, hesitantly, she reached out and placed her own hand in his.

It was a few minutes before Ahren could make his way downstairs again, and when he did his expression was pained and worried. He wanted to help Shiara ... but there were limits on what he could do, and he didn't want to push her away or move too quickly.

He cleaned up her dishes from the dining room, then headed into the playroom to wait for Donovan.