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The Screaming Tires,
The Busting Glass,
The Painful Screams,
The Memory I Won't forget.

----

Her son's newly opened cafe location was only a couple extra blocks from the clinic. It was a lovely day with a few clouds and a light breeze. Instead of hoping from one mirror to the next they decided to walk. It wasn't the exact view of the island (nothing like it mater of fact) but there were still lots of things to look.

Hand in hand they left the clinic. Sky in the lead with a pair of eyes that Ceres could use. Natalia in the middle, and Ceres heading up the rear. Even if they didn't look it they were a merry bunch.

"Do I really have to?" Natalia whined still not looking forward to a practice session- even if it included all the other siblings. It wasn't the fact of not being good she just had the fear of messing things up.

"We've gone over this a dozen times..." Ceres sighed. She really was at a loss. She had seen this reluctancy in Rhine. What worried her was that this would be a closet talent- something no one knew about.

Sky gave a whicker of discontentment as he heard the two continue to squabble over the violin and the practice session. His heart went out to both parties. He knew how proud and how right Ceres was about Natalia and her accomplishment of playing the violin... But, he also knew of Natlaia and how she felt about it. It was almost as if it was like the first time you learned to fly in a group... You just didn't want to get it wrong and be laughed at.

"Fine then," Ceres huffed in defeat. There was no sense in pushing the mater. She knew that if pushed Natalia's music would reflect that. "Will you at least settle for a little me and you down by the park?" One way or another though she was going to get Natlaia to practice the violin today.

"Fine," Natalia whickered as she rolled her eyes- It was apparent that there was no getting out of playing the violin today.

Sky was delighted that they were going to the park and not the cafe. It meant he could really let loose and spread his wings. He didn't look for approval or permission and within the next couple of steps was his gorgeous equine self.

Natalia clapped and giggled in delight the moment she heard her dad's hooves on the sidewalk. She couldn't wait to grow up and do her own thing... Secretly though she loved to play just as much as her sisters.

"You set wonderful examples," Ceres muttered under her breath. She was more than a little thankful that no one had seen his transformation. She would never trust this place to the fullest.

It was all in an instant when no one was really paying attention to anything around them- Sky gave a sudden whicker of terror. Adrenaline rushed through him. He saw it coming. A car like a freight train- out of control and at full speed. He pranced in step undetermined what to do.

Car v. Horse.

Ceres caught it in flashes. Every new look Sky gave at the car was a different angle to her. She didn't feel there was time to act so instead she shielded. She swung around and wrapped her arms protectively around Natalia.

"Momma, momma," Natalia called out. She could hear the scream of the tires as they tore into the road. She could hear her fathers whickers of terror. She could feel her mother against her... But, what she didn't understand is what she had to be fearful of- and she began to panic.

Sky had made his mind up. His family was going to triumph over the car as all costs. In a sudden guts and glory move he kicked his family off the corner of the side walk before he himself tried to dodge the car.

A good bit of Ceres' magic took the blunt of the kick. Her and Natalia went rolling down the grassy hill. She held onto her daughter tightly. Brief images cycled through her eyes. She saw crimson.

The more they rolled down the hill the more Natalia began to cry. There was nothing to make it better once her own mother began to scream in terror. And, suddenly she opened her eyes not to darkness but to the world around her.

Natalia pried from her tearful mother and stood up. She knew her momma was 'okay'. However, she assumed her dad was not by the scream that had erupted from her mother. Curiosity got a hold of her as she started to slowly crawl up the hill.

The car was no more than a hunk of metal wrapped around a street pole that at any minute threatened to fall from being made unstable by the crash. The driver having been thrown through the windshield laid several feet in front of the car- still breathing.

What Natalia didn't see was her daddy. Still shaking, she stood up slowly. Fear having not taken her over yet as the adrenaline and curiosity still controlled her. She felt the glass cut into her feet as she poked about the crash site. She wanted to find her daddy but found no more than a bloody mess.

Natalia who had been staring at the bloody mess trying to make things out looked up when she felt someone nudge her shoulder. Though it startled her she did quickly smile. "Daddy!"

Ceres came to with a groggy groan. She did not feel the warmth of Natlaia in her arms and frantically she began to look around. In a blur of images she realized that she was been looking at Natalia- a behind view which she knew meant that Sky was with her.

Quickly Ceres scrambled to her feet and ran up the hill to catch up with her family. She paid no attention to the glass that cut into her feet... There were more important matters at hand- one being helping the barely breathing person and doing so before the cops arrived despite knowing the fact that she would be tampering with a scene to make sure that there were no traces of them...

Rhine's Good Intentions

----

As Natalia towel dried her feet she watched the world go dark again. She hated it- the darkness. But, most of all she hated how it took an extreme (mostly anger) to allow her such a gift. She, at some moments even felt hatred to those who could see, especially those who abused it even if they didn't realize it.

Ceres had left her hair undone and still a good bit on the wet side. Not hearing the squeals or noisy delights of Natalia weighed heavily on her. She didn't expect Natalia to be the most spirited child after the accident earlier in the day but she had hoped for progress even if just int he slightest.

Before Ceres could check on Natalia she heard Rhine's door open and shut. She could hear him running down the hall. His heavy tail banged against the walls- a sign of his recklessness (excitement).

"How many times," Ceres said with a start as she met him in the hall. She had her hands on her hips and was looking as stern as she possibly could with a kid of hers looking at her with so much excitement he could burst.

It took everything in Rhine not to explode with the news that Keeta was expecting or to go on and on how they had had their first argument... There were more important matters at hand.

Ceres softened up and put on a very warm smile. She couldn't bear to see another of her children brokenhearted today. Thus she not only held in her scolding but also the news of what had happened earlier in the morning.

"I want to surprise her!" Rhine exclaimed. He noticed his mothers face didn't glow immediately but understood as this was him. He was always doing this on a whim and to the extreme. "I want to marry her in the next couple of days."

Ceres looked her son over as if he had lost his marbles. She knew good and well Rhine had already proposed and was planning to marry her. "And," she said hoping for a bit more insite.

And, from there Rhine spilled all his plans. The gifts, the dinner, the dancing... The EVERYTHING, and it ended in marring Keeta with all the important people there.

With each new detail in Rhine's plans Ceres became more and more excited- she couldn't help herself. Finally, she shooed her son out of the house. Even though he had most everything planned there were still a good bit of details that needed refining and to be finished.

But, before Ceres could do anything she'd have to check up on Natlaia... A task not so easy as she was no longer in the house...

Shattered

----

Natalia counted her way down the familiar path to the stables. She could have found comfort with her ol' blanket and stuffed kiwi but they weren't alive. She could talk and talk till she was blue in the face but she would never get a response. She supposed in a way that was a good thing if you wanted a sounding board but she wanted, needed, more than that.

Before the days of Lir, equine was a second language to her. Something she very rarely used and if she did it was mostly just to listen. However, the closer she grew with the Lir the more frequently she used equine. It was a secret between them... She wouldn't use it around others. In a way she wanted to just pretend it was something she didn't know.

Lir gave a soft whicker when he heard the door open. Nostrils flared as he took in her sent before giving a loud snort. "Natalia," he said in delighted tones.

"Lir!" Natalia squealed. No mater what he was always happy to see her. She didn't need to see an expression to know so... She could hear it, and fell it in his voice.

Lir's delight was short lived when he noticed her demeanor. "We're going again aren't we..." He looked away from Natalia and out the window. "We'll make your mother," but he was cut off from saying anything further as Natalia whickered displeasure from the words she was receiving.

"She got to you didn't she," and with that said Natalia turned and stormed from the stables slamming the doors behind her. She was beginning to hate everything around her easier, more and more.

Natalia stood there waiting for it- that intense energy that often consumed her and almost took her over. The more it lingered within her the less of a fight she had to give. But, why should she try and stop those feelings... It after all gave her site. At moments like this she welcomed the site, but afterward when she realized what had happened she regretted it.

A soft wind swirled around her and chuckled. It was a chuckle that could chill a person to the bone. "Follow me," it whispered into her ear.

Natalia tensed up as the chill ran down her spin. The voice was vaguely familiar. Somewhere deep within her she wanted to do as she was told, but somewhere a bit closer to the now she didn't.

"We are one," it whispered as it swirled itself around and over her body. "I once gave you what you wanted," it was being vague, only offering tidbits to raise interest.

Natalia wrapped her arms around herself suddenly remembering that day very vividly. "No," she squeaked. She did not want to go with wind, the spirit. Where was her voice? Where was her anger? She took in a deep breath and then tried to make her body work- one foot in front of the other. However, there wasn't a part of her that was budging.

"Your logic tells you to run, but your body says to stay," it chuckled. "What a dilemma." It again swirled around her but this time it pulled her to take several steps forward. "Forgive me if I scared you previously," it never said anything above a whispered.

Natalia swallowed the lump in her throat. Why wasn't her body working? Why did everything always have to be so screwed up. She wanted to scream, to pitch a fit, to run, to do ANYTHING other than listen or to follow this voice.

"I know you've got a lot on your mind," it whispered as it continued to coax her. "I just want to help you." Finally it removed its hold from her to try and gain some form of trust.

"There is nothing you have that I want," Natalia said firmly as she took a couple steps back. Her attention was not on her surroundings it was on the air, the spirit. In her steps back she trip over a rock and landed on her bottom.

"That right there tells me I have a lot to offer you," it again swirled around her- hugging her as a friend would. Then it pulled her to her feet. "Site, jewels, gold, peace, and so much more..."

Natalia bit her lip nervously as she felt her resistance slowly fade. Despite being slightly afraid she was more curious. "Much more?" The thought slipped from her head and out of her mouth.

"Flight," it said as it ruffled her feathered wings. It wouldn't openly admit that it was the island and that it knew all beings desires. It wouldn't openly tell her how much it needed her as she needed it.

Natalia just nodded her head. A sign that she was giving into temptation. She whimpered when she felt her body tingle... What had she agreed to this time?

"Dance with me?" It suggested. It worked the world around them to make music for them. He knew Natalia couldn't, wouldn't, resist.

As Natalia danced she felt her form change and her memory fade. She didn't fear either thing- not even when she no longer knew who she was. Suddenly she looked up at the sky. The wind about her no longer held any meaning. She spread her wings wide and took off as if it was something she had done since birth.

Once Natalia was gone the island chuckled. It had its own ways of celebrating its victory. It now had the maidens child and with it the future control of the island.

----

I'll Have Her

----

Ceres had looked through almost every pair of eyes on the island. Either she didn't know what to look for or what she was looking for was always one step ahead of her search. She pressed her hand against the window and let is slide down to the lock so she could it up. No mater how much she looked out the window she wouldn't see what she wanted to see. She wanted to see Sky returning home with Natalia on his back.

The wind blew in a little to rapidly for her liking. A cold chill ran through her- it was like having ice water dumped on you. She bit her lip and sucked in a breath. She was still refusing to cry. "Sky will be coming home very soon with Natalia on his back," she told her self this repeatedly.

"What if that doesn't happen," a voice said from what sounded like somewhere in the house, just a little bit behind her.

"They'll come home to me. Both safe and sound," Ceres said out loud to reassure herself. She hadn't placed the voice not being in her head... She thought her fears were just trying to get the best of her.

"I'm fairly sure she won't come home to you... At least not anytime soon," the voice said with a pleased chuckle. It was one of those laughs where you just got the upper hand at a game of chess.

Ceres took a deep breath. She wasn't going to listen. She didn't want to fight with her inner self. She rubbed her arms when the bitter wind blew again.

"Don't do it," the voice said as Ceres made an attempt to close the window. This was the first time it had really made itself known. When she felt something touch her hand she let go of the windows latch she turned around, fearful of what would present itself.

Ceres' site had been taken from her; although, she was fearful she did not panic. She knew all to well what was now in her living room. She knew that the island had taken form. "As always you are obedient," he said with chuckle.

"Did I have any other choice?" Ceres questioned. "You are already in my home... And I want to make sure you have a means to leave it." She crossed her arms trying to look as stern as possible.

"Seriously..." he said firmly as he unfolded Ceres' arms with little struggle. He already knew that Ceres' ability to protect herself was dwindling away with her 'magic'. "Between the few of us you know I've got what you want."

Ceres made another attempt to free herself from the grips of the island turned man for the moment. "Seriously, no you don't..." She spat towards his face since it was the only thing she could do.

"b***h," he growled as he forced her against the wall. "I may have not had your body like I did your mothers but I damn sure will have your daughters..." The look of shock brought him pleasure.

Ceres' was now more than ever trying to struggle from the island- even if she knew it was hopeless. "If it is the death of me you won't have her," she whispered as tears pooled at the corners of her eyes threatening to fall at any moment.

He continued to hold Ceres against the wall with one arm. Using his free hand he ran it across her body. "If her's turns out to be anything like yours... I'll seduce her... and well, all I'll say is that I'm going to enjoy myself."

Ceres felt hopeless now without her site simply because she could not see where he would touch her next. She bit her lip so that she wouldn't make any sound. She continued to struggle to get away from him.

"Don't worry your pretty little head off... It won't be anytime soon. I want her to be a child birthing age at least... Because you see... I don't know how you did it but somehow you made sure that she was free from this island." When he saw Ceres open her mouth to speak he took his free hand and covered it up. "I just want what is mine to continue to be mine..."

"No," Ceres whispered repeatedly. It was a no for what he was doing to her, a no for what he planned to do with her daughter.

"Just so you know... And only because it's all in good fun at the moment," the island leaned up against her so that his lips were against her ear. "I've been seducing her since she was little without her knowledge. And, keeping things in good fun... Today, I simply gave her what she wanted."

With a mischievous laugh the island vanished leaving Ceres to fall to the floor in a heap. She pulled her knees to her chest as she gave into her emotions and cried. She didn't know when her gift of site came back to her... She was just consumed at the moment with everything else.