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Inside the market, Rhona was closing up shop with the closing cashier, a small teenager by the name of Heather.

"Goodnight Miss Lee," the teenager chirped as she gathered her things and pushed the door open with her tiny frame. Rhona was about to respond when she caught sight of her worker pausing in the doorframe.

"Is everything alright Heather," she asked from her vantage point, hunched over her own register with strained eyes. Heather hesitated somewhat before she addressed the girl in front of the store instead of her boss behind her.

"I'm sorry ma'am, we're closed," the girl said gently. This, of course, prompted Rhoan herself to leave her post and aid in moving the would-be patron along for the night. Taller than her cashier and dressed in stark contrast in dark floral skirts and musically jangling bangles on either wrist, Rhona pushed the door open further, scrubbing at eyes which strained to focus, though she refused on all accounts to have seen by a specialist.

"She's right, I'm sorry but we op-" She stopped short when her vision cleared and she realized who had was there. And a moment later her smile fell when she recognized the look on her face. It was like looking into a mirror from so long ago. Heather couldn't hear the sound of her heart shattering, but Rhona could. She could hear every glass fragment, so meticulously species back together falling to the floor and breaking apart again. She placed light hands on Heather's shoulders and guided her forward, ushering the teenager on her way.

"That'll be all for tonight, Heather. Thank you for all the work you did," she said gently, the timbre of her voice notably changed. Heather passed again before she eventually nodded and padded away, casting looks over her shoulder to ensure that nothing untoward would transpire in her absence. Once she was certain the child was gone, Rhona deflated and leaned back against the door, locking it without looking.

"I was wondering when this day would come," she said flatly, "but at least you came to me with a suitcase. Too often they come with garbage bags, if they come with anything at all. That's what really kills me about the whole thing..."

The shudder in her voice annoyed her, but she was helpless to stop it. Hadn't she been vying for this? Didn't she want Izobel to come home someday? She had been so careful to explain the risks... what would be lost... and yet the reality of it all was hitting Rhona... though not as hard as it was probably hitting Izobel.

"Come on, kid. Let's go inside... you can tell me what happened over some tea. Lavender is home too so, you'll be able to meet her." Two rocks for Izobel to anchor herself to right now. Something solid with roots that she can cling to. For as long as she needed to.

Rhona soon discovered that she didn't have to ask what had happened. Short of all the sordid details which she presumed Izobel might never be able to share, she told Rhona all that she needed to know. A parentless child. A homeless girl. How Rhona wished there was a way to invited people home that didn't break them down... but perhaps that was the way. A new foundation needed to be built first... and Izobel already had a one-up on Rhona herself when she had corrupted. She had somewhere to go. Granted, So had Rhona, had she not been so damned stubborn...

As Izobel deflated, Rhona closed the distance between the two of them and wrapped her arms around the girl, holding her up as much as she was holding her close. Someday she'd learn who did this to Izobel. She'd get a name and she'd avenge this girl who had lost everything. She'd bring a starseed back or a head or whatever else she could. But right now Izobel didn't need a general. She needed a friend. She needed a home.

"Come on, Izobel," she muttered, pulling back just far enough to be able to lead the way to the back of the market, past rose bushes and patches of lavender -- her own saccharine attempt at humor. The back screen door gave way noiselessly under her hand and opened into a warmly lit kitchen.

"Lavender, honey," she called, ushering Izobel into the room with a gentle hand, "we have company... and it looks like we might for a while..."