Conflicted

[Katt Batten]

.: Chapter Thirty-Three: Question of Fate :.
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Making her way up the porch steps, Katt Batten paused to glance over her shoulder, like expecting something or someone. The strange little shadow that had been following her for months now was nowhere in sight. After a moment of pause she turned and shouldered her way into the inn.

It was a nice enough day, the sun was peeking out from the clouds, but Isuelt was tired. Tired of looking for shadows to hide in, tired of needing something to do with her time, tired of hiding from herself. She managed to muster up the courage to head to the Inn, wondering if she could keep a low profile. It was something she had really been working on lately.

A glance was made to her cubbie and for a moment Katt's nose wrinkled when she saw the letters stuffed into it. It was avoided and instead she headed behind the bar to fish herself a bottle of cranberry juice from the cooler. Another glance was made before she huffed at the box. "No." As if it had wooed her and she was vocally answering.

For the most part, Isuelt kept her head down, shielding herself from any passersby. She didn't want to answer questions or elaborate or really even be here. But the truth was that she had nowhere else to go. For the first time in her life, Isuelt was truly trapped. And she felt like a cornered animal. She had tried going elsewhere, but had run out of money; and she wasn't about to do anything of questionable morality for more...she was trying to push those days behind her. The door from the alleyway slowly creaked open. Isuelt hovered by the threshold, listening. It was quiet, as was usual during the day. A relieved Isuelt stepped in and kept her eyes averted beneath the hood of her sweater for a few moments as she tried to look around.

It was a rare thing that Katt was hungry enough that her stomach growled and even then she tended to ignore it. A rumble in her belly was silenced with a sip from the bottle, which was slightly jarred by the fact the alley door opened. Color her surprised to see someone else coming in let alone the scent being one she knew. The bottle was lowered and she blinked at the figure. Issy. In a hooded sweater? Wtf didn't cover it. "Hey, Issy."

Her legs halted, her steps ceased. Isuelt simply stood there as if being still enough would render her invisible. She immediately recognized Katt's voice and instantly felt shame. She didn't really remember what had transpired the last time she had seen and talked to Katt. She was a bit too inebriated. But she did remember waking up on Katt's couch and trying to skulk out as quickly as possible. Isuelt possessed a lot of pride; it could potentially be considered a hubris by some. And this new situation that she found herself in was absolutely soul-shattering. The deep shame she felt burnt her hotter than any torturous flame could. She turned her head slowly, and reached up to drop the thin hood. After all, it did no good in here. "Hi, Katt." Her voice was quiet, almost mousey. She sighed and headed toward her.

The sudden stop on a dime by the woman had her growing silent. She was half expecting Issy to suddenly bolt and that..kinda hurt. What did she do now? The sigh didn't help. The bottle was placed down and she used the cold that lingered on her hand to moved across the back of her neck. "I can go if you want."

Isuelt scoffed lightly, "Why should you go? You were here first." Isuelt lifted her eyes finally to look at Katt. While she wasn't drunk, she did look tired: sallow complexion, mildly sunken eyes and dry lips.

"You look uncomfortable at my presence and while I am not sure what I did, I do not wish to cause you any discomfort." It was as honest as an answer as one could get.

A chuckle actually sounded, "It's not you, Katt. It has nothing to do with you."

"The way you looked just now says otherwise. You practically cringed when I spoke to you." She grunted quietly. "You know how I feel about being lied to, Issy."

She sighed and sat down. "I said it's not about you, Katt. That's all I got. And that's not lying." She lifted her brows and looked at Katt.

Her lips parted to speak but seemed to come to some sort of realization - whatever it was, Issy wasn't going to tell her. As much as she had let Issy into her life, told her things that many do not know, that trust only went one way. Slowly her lips closed and her jaw worked, like she was chewing on something. When her lips parted again, "What would you like to drink?" Since she was already behind the bar and whatnot.

Trust was only trust if it was ready to be initiated; and Isuelt simply wasn't quite ready to accept the truth of what had happened in her life, let alone share it with others. She didn't lie, yet she didn't offer information on this certain subject as a method of sanity and self-preservation. She shook her head to Katt. "Just water is fine."

"Sure thing." She abandoned her own drink to go back to the cooler to collect a bottle of water. It was set in front of Issy, unopened.

"Thank you," was whispered as she stared at the bottle for a moment. Then, taking it quickly, unscrewed the cap and downed about half of it. Forcing herself to put down the bottle she drew a long sigh and then lifted her head to look at Katt. "It's really just something I'm dealing with, Katt. Really. Not you." She swallowed and looked over her friend. "How are you?"

Katt plucked out another bottle and settled it near Issy as a backup for the bottle she nearly consumed in one go. "Mrm? Your daughter, yes?" See, she remembered! "I..." She tipped her head a bit. "I don't know? Still feeling really weird and this contact is killing me." She really hated the thing sliding around on her eyeball. Just..ew.

"Yeah....yeah, that." The fact that Rose had been an issue was definitely another helping on her plate. "Contact?" She looked up at Katt. "Rose is uhhm.....difficult." Another bit of water. Though she shook her head for a moment, "Actually, I'm sure I was a pain in the ass at that age, too."

"Mrph. From what I heard she sounded pretty damn worried about you, Issy. So I think you are both pretty difficult." It was spoken in a 'just saying' type tone. Realizing the comment about the contact slipped she paused only to blink at Issy. Hoping to let the slip slide she peered at Issy. "At that age?" was teased.

"I actually have no idea how old she is, really." She shrugged, "But she looks like a teenager. It's all a bit....well...." She rolled her eyes, "What the ****, whenever Renna is involved you know it's going to be ***** up." She felt she needed to divert her attention from her seemingly insurmountable problems. "What's a contact?" She looked to Katt.

"A bit weird? She is still pretty much the victim of Renna's ...crazy. You both are..But from what I heard you care about her, too. I think you need to ease up on yourself and stop being so hard on yourself." Kettle. Pot. "We aren't defined by our mistakes, Issy. What defines us is our ability to accept we made the mistake and rectify it, learn from it, and try not to repeat it. Grow from it if you will. So you have time to be there for her, if you want to. Even if it isn't as her mom. Be there for as a friend, a consult. Someone she feels she can turn to. That..is if you want to." she shrugged her shoulders slowly then stared at Issy. "Mrrrmmph." Yep. That summed it up. "Have you not noticed changes in me?"

She took in Katt's words. Every. One. Of. Them. She took them in silence, staring at the water bottle. Katt was absolutely correct. But for now, it was Isuelt's stubborn pride that was standing in the way of what Katt advised. Hopefully, she'd find a way around it soon before she let it kill her. Changes in Katt? As a matter of fact, she had noticed some changes. Positive changes. "Actually....yes." She looked to Katt. "You seem....more..." Her whiskey-soaked brain searched for the words, "More...positive. More at ease?"

A throaty chuckle was given. "Not..that..but really? Hm.." She didn't even realize. Raising a hand she combed her fingers through her black hair and as the light rolled off the dark strains, a metallic sheen could be seen. Ah! A realization clicked about then. "Edward..is back. Kinda. Stubborn man is hiding out in his lab again. I think he is trying to figure out what happened to him. To us."

She watched Katt, then absolutely stilled when she mentioned her brother. "What? Really?!" Well, that was one heavy stone lifted at least. "He's okay?" She was taken aback at the incredible relief that washed over her.

She had a feeling that would lift Issy's spirits. A nod was given to her questions. "Yep. He is fine just ..." She rolled her eyes up for a moment before lowering them to Issy. "Being him. You know how he is. When something strikes his curiosity he will stay in his lab like a crazy person. I'll try to get him out so you can see for yourself."

Her shoulders fell in such solace that she was nearly brought to tears. She wiped her hands over her face and took a deep breath, letting it out in a big sigh. "I'm....I'm just glad he's back. Don't pull him out of his lab; he loves it in there."

While Issy was busy collecting herself, Katt moved her hand to her left eye and tapped her middle finger against her eye or rather tapped the contact which she was removing. It had been worn to simply conceal the fact that her left eye was no longer that icy green shade but rather a color Issy might find rather familiar - the same color as her brother's eyes.

She sniffed and lifted her head, pulling her hands from her face. Another deep sigh and she felt she could continue. "Sorry..."

"Do not apologize. I do understand." A napkin was nudged over to her in case Issy needed it. She was about to say something else but decided against it.

"No, no...it's good. It's good." Isuelt cleared her throat and finished the water, only to open the second one though she didn't drink from it just yet.

"Mrm.." Was all she said for now as she rolled the contact between her fingers.

As she got her thoughts together, she sniffed once again. "Yes, but you do seem...I don't know..." She was staring at Katt's eyes. Yep, different color.

"Weird-er?" Was what she figured Issy was looking for.

"No..." She canted her head to the side. "Happier. More...in control."

"Mrm..." She tipped her head a bit. "I am not sure about in control but I am happier. I mean my brother is home. We still have a lot to deal with and try to figure out what is going on with me. I think that is what he is working on too." Lots of testing on her part.

"What's going on with you..." Isuelt repeated, now watching Katt intently.

"That is just it. I ...we...don't know. Renna had infected me ..um..last year. A few months before Christmas." She wasn't sure if Issy knew or remembered, either way she was covering her grounds, "She was ...killing me. My soul anyways. Taking me over. Making me..her."

She nodded. She remembered. Ed had told her. In fact, that's when Ed had told her everything. About himself, about Katt. And if anyone understood how Renna's 'infections' could affect a person, it was Isuelt. "And now?"

Katt exhaled slowly. "He did something to me to save me. Something that I cannot explain. When I woke up he was gone and any answers he could have provided at the time was gone too. That was when she had kidnapped him. During his absence I had literally began to feel like a drained battery. Still functioning but...dying." She had no better way to explain it. "Physically I seemed fine and it even baffled every one of the doctors on his staff."

"But he's back now and figuring out further what to do?" She stilled for a moment, worrying that if the control and the happiness she'd seen in Katt wasn't Katt at all, but the part of Katt that was Renna? If what Katt said was accurate, and Renna was trying to turn Katt into Renna... Well, anything with Renna was possible.

"I am not sure how to explain it, Issy. I think even to a degree my brother is baffled." She scratched her neck. "I went with Leo, a sudden thing that we didn't exactly prepare for," which meant she didn't even tell Clayton let recruit anyone for the 'mission'. Leo had came to her rather sudden after all. "I ...cannot tell you what happened just yet. Not until we figure it out but...somehow I ...we..triggered. Me and my brother that is." See, terrible at explaining tech-mumbo-jumbo.

"Triggered?" That was never a good word, technology or otherwise.

She was trying to figure out how to explain it. After a moment she sighed and rubbed her face. "When we found him, he was in the process of dying, Issy. Ready to explode...right before my eyes."

Isuelt blinked and swallowed. Ed said that that would happen, but frankly, Isuelt never believed him. She didn't believe it would happen. She had total and complete faith in him that he would find a way to elude his fate. Still, she listened to Katt.

"I freaked." she admitted without any reserve about it. It was the truth, "So much so that without even thinking I ran to him. Ran to him and threw myself at him. I did not want the last thing we spoke about to each other be words like we had. Both angry. Even if we are siblings and that is natural, I just didn't want that. I couldn't handle the thought of him dying and those being my last words to him. It tore me up..."

Isuelt smiled softly as she listened to Katt.

Katt took a moment, waiting for the feeling to settle before she spoke again, "When we connected like that..I don't know. He explained it like he was a charger and I was being charged. I took that energy from him, at least a big portion of it and because of that he stabilized and I was..better. The drain I was feeling was gone..."

"Destiny..." Isuelt whispered the word in a state of awe. After all, who else could have done that? They 'saved' each other. Fate had made sure that they had met and had become siblings.

She blinked up to Issy. "Huh?"

Still whispering, "No one else could have done that for him....could have saved him. And no one else could have helped you in that moment. It was destiny..." She'd been thinking a lot about destiny lately. It was the only way she could swallow the sick tragedy that her life had suddenly become.

Katt snorted quietly. "I highly doubt that. I think it was more dumb luck than destiny. Whatever he did to me before he contacted me, which he wasn't even sure would work, and all of it." She grunted quietly and scratched the back of her head. "Destiny..." That was a word she had not heard in a long time. "Anywho... he is stable now and I am too. Though," she raised a hand up to her eye, "We have a little strangeness afterward."

A content smile sat on her lips for the first time in a long time. And as she looked to Katt's eye, she noticed that it wasn't only a different color. She definitely knew that shade of blue. "His eyes…You both..." She quieted, staring at Katt. 'Strangeness' didn't seem to cover where her thoughts went. "Wow," she spoke under her breath.

"Yeah. We don't know why. Just an anomaly. It isn't like he can see through my eyes or anything. At least not as far as we know." She chuckled. "But he also has it too. It looks..weird...seeing him with my eye color..."

It took a long moment before Isuelt looked away from Katt, or even moved. She seemed to just be absorbing her story. Finally she drew a deep breath and ran her hands over her face.

"I'm just...so glad you are both okay." Shifting her attention to others seemed to alleviate the sensation that she was drowning.

She blinked slowly at Issy. "You mean him? Edward."

The weight of what had happened over the past few months and weeks was just so solid on her shoulders, that the small lift of worrying about Katt, about Ed, felt as if she would find the surface again. Isuelt's eyes were rimmed with tears. She looked to Katt in question, "Hm?"

"You mean you are glad he is okay." Katt corrected herself mildly as she moved to collect a third water for Issy and a few napkins just in case.

She rested her head in her hand and nodded slowly. "Yeah," she whispered. "And you as well, Katt." She glanced down, "And I really didn't think I'd ever see him again. I thought he was done."

"Why me?" It confused her to hear that. She was just a big thorn in Issy's side. Hell if she was out of the picture Issy wouldn't have to worry about her getting in the way or being a bother, so pardon the confusion.

"Let me ask you a question, Katt," she placed her interlaced fingers on the bar before her. "If you died, do you not think I would grieve?"

"I don't know." It was an honest answer.

A dark brow arched. "Seriously?"

She stared at Issy. "Yes. For someone I have given so much of myself to, you have given very little in return. You keep me at arms length and don't even seem to trust me when I've trusted you with some things that I have told no other. Like about my mother and father... I never told Edward nor Clayton about that. Mostly because it never came up but that is besides the point. But you? The one time you confided in me and I tried to shake you out of your guilt, you took it as me scolding you. I have looked up to you as a strong figure and to this day I still feel as you look down upon me as if I am a child. And yes, at times I wonder if you would be happier with me out of the way so you could be closer to my brother without my interference. I don't question you care, Issy. I just know it is limited."

She was taken aback, both literally and figuratively. It was a gut punch that she hadn't planned on, and it showed. Her face wore the expression of a horrified bystander who watched two trains colliding. Her mouth was open, slack-jawed and she barely blinked as she stared at Katt. Isuelt knew that getting close to people was something she had always had real trouble with. Friends were something that she could count on one hand. Not because of their indifference, but because of Iseult's deathly fear of intimacy. She was horrendous at friendship, and she knew it. No matter how many times or different ways she tried, she usually was better when she kept people at a distance. It took Isuelt an insane amount of time to build up the courage to actually trust someone and bring them into the fold. She wasn't proud of it, actually quite the opposite. She was shamed by it. But, in her life, in her line of work, friends usually met awful ends. And somewhere in the back of her mind, she was 'saving' them by not letting them get too close. However, that notwithstanding, it often left her feeling alone, isolated, hopeless. "I..." She couldn't speak, she couldn't answer Katt. Her shame was so deep, it cut her to the core. Katt was correct about giving of herself, while Isuelt...well, Isuelt had done practically nothing. It was in that moment that Isuelt pondered who would grieve for her. Who would be there to to truly feel a loss if she died. She was shaken to think it would be far less than she cared to admit.

"I am not mad or anything, Issy," she made sure that Issy understood that, "Nor does it mean I don't think you as a friend. I do. But you grieve over me? I cannot honestly say I know. I mean I've only seen you cry once..." correction time, "twice." She seemed thoughtful for a moment before shook her head. "So don't say you are sorry or anything. If it bothered me I wouldn't be talking to you now. It is what it is."

"I'm sorry," the whisper was all she could muster amid her mortification. "You're right. I'm a terrible friend. I'm a cold person." She swallowed her pill.

"Told you not to say that." Katt shook her head. "Nor did I say you are a terrible friend. I am guarded too. I don't let most people close to me and for good reason. I have learned that sometimes you can give, but that doesn't mean the person has to give back in return. So stop it." She craned her head a bit before eyeing Issy. "Let me return the question. Would you grieve? And be honest."

"Yeah, I would." She couldn't quite bring herself to look at Katt. "You are generous, you care about people. You genuinely do. You freely give of yourself, sometimes literally. You've been to hell and back and you still give others the time of day without wallowing." She wiped at her own nose. "You're a good person, Katt. No matter what you go through, you always somehow bring yourself to be there for others."

"A good person.." hearing someone say that felt..weird. "You think of me too highly, Issy." She chuckled quietly and slid her hands into her pockets. "Nor do I give myself so freely. When I give parts of myself to someone...it means I trust them and I have serious trust issues." She knew her flaws! "I am not a good person. I am a tamed murderer trying to make amends for the mountain of lives she has taken."

It was now that Isuelt's gaze flickered to Katt. Isuelt had been battling her past for longer than she would ever admit. And very few people knew the truth of what Isuelt really was, or the choices she'd made. Edward was one of them. Every word that Katt said could have been applied to Isuelt. Her head ached and she needed a drink. She rubbed at her forehead and wiped at her eyes and face. It had been an emotional afternoon for her. The usual cold-as-ice warrior was having a lot of afternoons like that lately. She wondered if she were having a mental breakdown.

[Katt Batten]

She gave a throaty chuckle when Issy looked at her like that. "I know what you are going to say. Probably somewhere around 'you aren't like that' and stuff. When in the truth of the matter is I was, very much a murderer. Why do you think Renna is so fascinated with me? Because we are so much alike. Or were alike. There are differences now but that is because I chose that road. Remember what I said earlier? About mistakes?" She gestured faintly to the side. "If I didn't think you as a friend, Issy, we would not be talking like we are now. You are how you are and I've accepted that a long time ago. That does not make you a bad friend. But I also don't know answers to questions about how you feel about me. I am not asking you to change nor am I telling you so you feel guilty. I don't want you to feel guilty I just want you to understand why I am mildly confused."

She simply nodded slowly, feeling like her head weighed five hundred pounds. "Well, allow me to clear up any...confusion. Yes, I would grieve." The corners of her mouth turned down and she looked to the bottle of water.

"Then I have grown to know you a little more." Though she was admittedly surprised. "I would think you would be at least relieved to have a thorn such as I out." She chuckled quietly. "Do..you remember our conversation in the alley?" Or rather Issy was in the alley!

She wiped at her face once more and then wiped her hands on her pants. "You're not a thorn, Katt."

She grunted quietly, not responding but rather waiting for Issy to recollect.

"Which...which conversation, Katt?" Her brain was an absolute jumble of alcohol-stained half-memories lately.

"When you told me about your daughter and stuff. When you confided in me but you seem to think that you shouldn't of told me anything because of what I told you." Katt's hands settled against the bar.

"Yeah..." Again, the guilt of what she'd done hit her. How she'd pretty much thrown Rose under the proverbial bus for Edward.

"Issy. The things I said was true and honest. I said them because I see a strong woman. Prideful, yes. Stubborn, gods yes. But strong. Willful and Spirited. A good person. Someone I look up to. I didn't baby you. I didn't treat you like glass or give you lies to make you feel better. I felt you deserved better than that. You are strong enough to face the truth and once you dust yourself off and stop with the guilt, you can stand tall and move on. Be it to fix things, move forward to make things better, or something else."

Isuelt pressed her lips lightly together and looked toward the window, recalling the conversation. "I don't know what I'm looking for. I don't know what..." She sighed. "I've only felt this scattered a few times in my life. And each of those times..." She stopped short and gazed out the window.

"When you fall, you need to get back up, dust yourself off, and move forward. You speak so greatly about me but do you know how many times I have crashed, Issy? How many times I've been at the end of my rope?" She chewed her bottom lip. "I tried to kill myself when I was last infected by Renna."

She drew a slow breath and looked from the window to Katt. She knew all about finding the end of a rope. But it was something she didn't speak of to many people.

"Seriously don't think anyone would have blamed me, either. I mean Renna was wanting to use my body to..to...with Edward..." Katt just paled drastically at the thought of it and a few seconds later she shuddered.

"People like us don't get an escape as easy as death, Katt." She glanced down, feeling the full weight of that truth.

"Killing oneself is a cowards way out." Katt said it flatly. "To be unable to face and overcome. Our mistakes do not define us." She repeated. "What we do afterward, that defines us." She saw how Issy reacted to the words. "Whatever is going on with you Issy..You..." she stopped herself suddenly and closed her eyes. She didn't want to upset Issy again with her words so instead...swallowed them. Whatever Issy was going through made her like glass and less of the warrior woman Katt knew her to be.

Katt's intuition was on the money. Isuelt arguably had never been as fragile in her life as she was now.

Katt was chewing on her inner cheek, keeping to her silence for now.

"I've never been so lost. So without. So....useless." She was crumbling before Katt's eyes.

She blinked at Issy. "So..without?" She was still thinking it was about the girl. "Issy...You are anything but useless. Why..would you ever think such a thing." Seriously..she was baffled.

"I'm undone, Katt. I'm finished." She didn't even bother to look around her this time. She was glass, she was shattering.

Okay now she was even more confused. "So you are basically saying you are giving up? On ...everything? Everyone? Even yourself? Whatever is going on, Issy...I may not know what it is but I know damn sure you aren't useless."

"Everything I am....everything I was. It's gone." She was looking at the bar, but she wasn't seeing anything. "I have nothing. No home, no money, no job. Nothing. I've been cast out. It's over, Katt." It was a small miracle that she still had her voice, as weak as it was.

She listened quietly then her brows raised, slowly. "Cast out." Give her a moment. "From...the Sisters?"

Finally, slowly, she looked to Katt. Her hand was holding up her head as it softly nodded.

She stared at her long and hard. Ohhh the questions she had. "I don't know why you were..cast out...but they are saddened for the loss of you. As for you having nothing that is a load of crap. You have life in you Issy. Everything else is material things. Though now a bit of things make sense." She craned her head a bit. "Issy...You can either lay down or stand up. You still have life. You are still something. You are still someone. Being a Scath did not..
does not define YOU!"

"You don't understand, Katt..." She actually physically shuddered. "I...have known nothing else for almost my entire life. And the short spell that I did know something else....I...." She took a moment and actually guffawed at herself. What did it matter now? "I tortured and killed people for money. And I enjoyed it. Being a Scathachian was the only thing in my life that actually stood for something, that was meaningful, that made me not want to slit my wrists every morning when I work up and found that I hadn't been allowed to die in my sleep." After all, Edward knew all of this, why wouldn't Isuelt eventually confess to his sister? "No matter how much alcohol I plowed into my body, no matter how many drugs or abuse I'd done to myself...I always woke up." She was thoroughly disgusted with herself. There was no small part of her that didn't wish she would just keel over dead on the spot right now.

She chuckled deeply. "You think? You honestly think I don't understand? I spent all my life being a murderous puppet. I still struggle with emotions. Being Scath? Was not your life. If anything it was a stepping-stone to advance who you are. You aren't going to die because you are no longer with them. You just need to find something new to fill your life. I can help with a job and a place to sleep. The latter you cannot say no to."

"I have cause an irreparable harm to my Sisterhood. Me. All me. Because I was prideful, stupid, blind and over confident. And ashamed." Isuelt looked like a house of cards collapsing. "I deserve everything that's coming to me. It's my penance." She knew she was speaking with the words that the High Priestess would have admonished her with...if she were still alive. It was killing Isuelt not knowing if her Sisters had survived the surprise attack on their island...or if there had even been one.

"What did you do that is so irreparable? So damning that there is no way to repair? Because as far as I am concerned as long as you are alive you can make things right. Or do you plan on just wallowing in your guilt and killing over? Because I thought you were better than that, Issy." She sighed and scratched at her neck.

"I betrayed those who gave me life. Who gave me myself, gave me purpose, gave me everything." Her eyes rolled back into her head as she shut her eyes, her pain was so near to the surface she wanted to scream, or pull her hair out, or both. "I..." She couldn't go on.

Katt considered it a moment. "Gave yourself? No. They helped mold you, sure, but you are yourself, Issy. They didn't give you everything. You worked for it. You laid your life down for them countless times and if they cast you out for a wrong, after all the good you have done, then there is something wrong. However...now? Now it is time to find a new purpose. They did not give you everything. They did not give you your life here in Rhydin. They just enriched it. They did not give you the respect you have earned from the people and citizens of Rhydin or your friends. Them casting you out is not the end of you and I won't let it be."

Isuelt had been low before in her life: when her husband died, when she came to terms that her assassin's ways were getting the better of herself. But she had never felt this desolate, this alone. And she had let her pride keep her upright for months. She had let her absence keep up the charade that she had left with the Scathachians as they departed Rhydin. She had let her stubbornness root her to the bottom of a bottle of whiskey rather than ask for help. She was hearing Katt's words, but they sounded so far away. All she could hear was the crashing sound of her failure and her own self-hatred.
Her head collapsed into her hands as if the weight of it was simply too much to bear. Her voice peeked from beneath her fingers, just barely. "Please, don't say anything Katt. I'm ruined...I don't want the world to know. Please?"

"You aren't ruined but you are acting like you are, Issy. So pick yourself up if you don't want the world to know." She grunted quietly. "The Scath Sisters aren't who you are, Issy, but what you were. It is like saying that Batten Inc. is who Edward is. If he lost it all he would just pick himself up and rebuild. So stand up and rebuild who you are. Now..as far as for your home..You can stay at my suite at the Toujours le Vert. And if you want a job I can hire you at the Tower for Security. With your conditionals hell you could get a job anywhere!"

"Well, I'm not Edward, am I?" She lifted her head up and looked at Katt. "Do you understand how hard this is for me? How ***** hard this is to admit? To accept?" Isuelt wanted to sweep herself under the carpet. She simply wasn't ready to deal with her predicament, much less gather together a plan B like Katt was so right in saying. There were not enough words in the universe to convey that they were alone in the Inn just now.

"I do but are you just going to roll over? You are not Edward. You are Issy. A strong warrior woman. It will take time to accept but you will be stronger for it. I have faith in you. As a person, not as a Scath. I've never defined you as a Scath. That was your job to me, not who you were."

"But to me, it's who I was." She sat back, feeling utterly exhausted. Her voice was hard and the stains of tear tracks were bright red against her sallow skin. "I don't know how I'm ever going to get over this...Please don't say anything, Katt? Please don't say anything to Ed." She looked to Katt, knowing that she could keep a secret or two, just like her brother.

"I won't say anything to anyone if you promise to stay at Toujours le Vert. It is a big place and nobody will both you. If you promise to stay there then we have a deal."

All Isuelt wanted was a place to hide away from the world for a while. For an instant, she envied Renna's sanctuary off-world and Ed's lab. "Fine." She hung her head, "Deal."

[Katt Batten]

[size=9]Few Days Later[/size]

The evening was one of those nights that people wait the entire year for: calm winds, temperate air, sweet smell of lilacs floating by. Isuelt was relatively sober and was actually enjoying the silence of the market. Lately, it was the little things that she tried to find pleasure in. It was challenging, but what's a challenge to someone like her, right? She sat on a low rock wall that separated some of the stalls from the more established shoppes, her legs dangling. She was wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of faded jeans, the products of a lost and found, and her sandals. Her dark hair was pulled back into a thick ponytail and her skin was looking like she had had some nutrition and some sleep. Her eyes were shut and her chin was tipped to the sky. Over the past few hours, she'd heard a few familiar far off sounds: yelling, commotion and a few rumblings of what she supposed were trash cans or other objects hitting the ground in a nearby alleyway. And the realization that it was no longer her responsibility nor her charge was both freeing and devastating. She was currently contemplating which hurt worse.

It wasn't like Katt Batten to get so damn tired after paperwork or maybe it was just the overall boredom of being stuck in the Tower for hours on end. Sluggishly Katt made her way through the market, attempting to shake off the feeling of lead in her feet. It was too late for some of the things she normally liked but it was never too late to go to her favorite lurking spot - the fountain. So that is where she headed, stopping briefly when she caught a scent on the wind. "Hmmm.." Katt could have been wicked and scared Issy out of her skin but right now didn't seem like the best of ideas. Instead she craned her head back, "Hey, Issy." Not that she pinpointed the woman by scent but she was nearby enough that given enough time she could have hunted the woman down. Adjusting the strap of her backbag, she waited to either be answered or ignored - one would have her moving along while the other would likely have her going home.

She opened her eyes and looked toward her name. A small smile perked her expression as she exhaled her reverie. Her posture even changed; a kneed coming up to be hugged by her arm, while her other leg continued to dangle. If one didn't know better, it would look as if Isuelt was actually casual and relaxed. "Heya, Katt." She nodded almost sheepishly, feeling a bit guilty for not staying where Katt had suggested for too long. It was difficult to staple herself in one place, it always had been. Especially now when her thoughts and focus were all over the place.

Katt's eyes lowered some at movement near the direction she had been heading and a brow crawled up when she spotted others over there. A little crane of her head was given before she was addressed. Her eyes quickly turned in the direction she heard Issy's voice. "You know I get reports from the complex, right? Was the suite not to your liking?" Her hands slid down into the pockets of her torn jeans.

The Battens were tough. There really was no lying to them. They literally had eyes everywhere. Isuelt learned that with Ed a while back, why should his sister be any different. Her lips shifted to the side and she canted her head as she looked off in the direction of the cityscape. Inhaling, she nodded slowly, "You know about that, huh?"

It was because of her brother that she had eyes everywhere. It wasn't like she wanted to but for some odd reason the man thought she should fill his shoes. "I had a feeling even before the cleaning service told me that the suite had barely been disturbed." Katt rocked on her heels a bit. "You are stubborn...I figured you wouldn't even go there let alone go there for long."

The smirk returned to Isuelt's lips as she looked down to her knee. "Sorry about that, Katt." After a moment, she lifted up her gaze to meet her. "I wanted to thank you."

"Don't sorry me. You promised and you broke it." She huffed quietly but didn't seem to push any further than that - at least not yet.

"Yeah, but you can't tell me you're surprised." She arched a brow and turned to fully face Katt.

"A little. I tend to hold promises in high regards. Not only that but you kinda don't want me telling people things." Not that she would which she suspected that Issy already knew which is why she didn't feel she had to uphold her end of the bargain.

Arching a brow at that. "I sorta feel that I...." She squinted off in the distance, making a note of the others who were enjoying the quiet evening in the market. Continuing her thoughts, she looked back to Katt, "I just have sort of a problem with handouts. Always did. I wanna feel like I'm earning it. Your generosity, that is." She was damn sure that Katt wouldn't say anything to anyone. She was even fairly certain that she wouldn't share the information with her brother. She shrugged. It was bare truth and there was something freeing about it. The fact that she had confessed her catastrophe to Katt had some merit in speaking with her now. Isuelt didn't have to work so hard at being evasive. "I need to earn it, Katt." her eyes flickered to her and beheld a certainty that sharpened her already deep gaze.

"You can earn your keep once you are back on feet, Issy. Besides as many times as you have saved my ass or been there for me? You don't think you haven't in some way earned it? Or my respect?" She grunted up to her almost as if she were threatening to come up there and Gibbs smack Issy.

Isuelt shifted on the wall before she hopped down and looked to Katt; gods be amazed, that smirk was still on her lips. And what was more, Katt's sensitive nose couldn't pick up the scent of whiskey.

She was pretty sure Issy was being a smart ass by sliding off the wall and standing on her feet. Har har har, Issy. A throaty snort came from her and she gestured, "So you want a job or what? I have some positions, private or otherwise, I can throw at you to see if you are interested. Then you can earn your keep and what have you."

She chewed on her tongue for a moment. The offer was very tempting. She kicked at the ground a moment and then blew out a long exhale. "That...would be interesting." Nodding slowly and looking to Katt. "I think..." She took a deep breath and exhaled as if cleansing some internal struggle. "I think I'd like to see about that once I know I'm good enough." She dipped her chin to Katt, trying to convey that she meant something deeper.

"How about something simple for now then? I can hire you privately to take over my patrols. With things busy around the Tower I have not been able to patrol the streets like I use to. The pay will come with some benefits but not as much as if you were Batten Security." Her hands clasped at the small of her back as she fell into a sort of business stance. "It will require you to be able to work with the Watch and various other sources which you should be used to. You would have to report to me." Scary, isn't it Issy. Katt as your boss. Be afraid!

She chuckled at that, though she hung her head a bit. "I guess I could start there..." Though she knew she wasn't supposed to be on the streets doing anything that resembled her Scathachian duties. But what else did she know? Really? She swallowed and wiped a hand over her jaw and chin, while dropping her voice, "I'm just not supposed to--" And who exactly would forbid it? Janie was still here, still doing what she could, but she wouldn't be out patrolling. And what if she was? Would she tell? Would she add incriminating evidence to Isuelt's court martial case?

"Mrm?" The sound questioned from her throat. "Not supposed to what?"

After a blink, Isuelt leveled her gaze at Katt and slowly let a smile cross her lips. "Nothing." After all, what did the rules matter now anyway?

Katt gave a throaty grunt and stared at Issy. She didn't believe that a lick!

"I can stick to the....the rooftops. Keep out of sight. You know that. It'll be fine." And what if something happened that she did have to apprehend? She was operating outside of the law, her Scathachian ties to the Watch were dissolved, save for Lt. Cullen. And she knew that he'd keep quiet.

"Not suppose to what," was repeated as she didn't let up and had no plans on doing so until she got an answer.

"I was ordered to cease all Scathachian duties. And your patrols are....are in the same vein." Adding a dash of insult to injury. "I'm not just gonna..." She paraphrased Katt, "Just curl up and die because of this. Right?"

She made a face at Issy. "First off..I am not Scathachian. They cannot demand you stop any and all activity just because it is in the same vein. They do not have jurisdiction over Rhydin to demand such a thing. If I employ you, you are a Batten employee, not a Sister. They can kiss my ass if they want to argue it is the same vein. That would be like saying that you can't have a job just because it is the same business. If they give you a hard time over it, they have to bring it up to me, not you. That is the most foolish thing I have ever heard." She was quickly losing any kind of faith she had in the Scath faction. "Curl up and die? Only if you decide to give up and you ain't coward enough to do that."

She held out a hand to Katt. "Well then, I guess you got yourself a deal, boss."

Her hand went to clasp Issy's hand firmly. "Good. I will have a schedule planned out for you. Make sure to go to Batten Tower to pick up your gear. I will make sure Kyle has it ready for when you get there. Mind you, you are also a branch of the Batten Inc and my brother...So...Make sure to be yourself."

Shaking Katt's hand, Isuelt marveled at the turn of events in her life over the past few months.

"The suite is yours, Issy. I am sure Edward would insist as well. So please..do use it. You will need rest for your work. If you need clothes and other things, then I will advance you a paycheck so you can buy things you need with the exclusion of booze. That you can buy on your own time." Standards! Katt has them.

[Katt Batten]

Isuelt nodded to Katt's requirements, finding them fair. "About Kyle..." She shifted her weight slightly as they let go of their handshake. "Don't mention anything to him about...why I'm there? Maybe I wanted a change in direction?" She highly respected Kyle Pontius and wouldn't want him to think less of her.

"I plan on keeping my half of our bargain even if you don't plan on keeping yours. He has no reason to know why you need them and if he asks I will simply tell him they are a gift from me to you. Which is no lie, actually. It was something I had planned on doing for Christmas this year. You are just getting it a bit early. If my brother, or anyone asks, why you are working patrol for Batten Inc, I will tell them that you needed something to fill time. Which again, is no lie."

"Thank you," she nodded deeply to Katt though the Christmas comment caught her off-guard. "Really?" Katt was a pretty good gift-giver. She smiled, marveling at Katt's generosity. She had crumbled before Katt like a house of cards earlier, and now here she was being built up again by the younger Batten.

"You seem surprised." she chuckled quietly, "I gave you a sword, wound ointments, and I thought armor would complete it all." She shrugged slightly as she relaxed her stance some. "However...I will let you know this, Issy. I don't.. normally keep things from my brother and Clayton. In this case I am simply doing so because you asked me. I don't like it but it is also not my place to tell them."

Sighing, she nodded. "Your brother," she stalled. "I'll tell him myself. I promise." She knew the sort of catharsis his confessional had always brought her. In fact, this newest incident was one of the only things she hadn't told him about her life...and that was because he had been MIA. And as he had always been honest with her, she felt she owed him an explanation. Besides, the fact that he wasn't dead or dying was reason enough to celebrate a conversation with him. Especially when she thought she'd never see him again.

"Quite frankly I think you should and I am sure he will feel the same way I do. I mean seriously, Issy. As much as you've done for them. Not only them but for the people of this city. To discard you so easily because of a mistake? To not even give you a chance to redeem yourself? Quite frankly I question them." She didn't want to insult Issy or the Sisters but it was true. She questioned how authentic these sisters cared for each other if one of their own was so quick and easily tossed away. There was even a part of her that was rather inflamed over it but that part was placed on the backburner. For now..

She found the ground strangely interesting suddenly. "It's a bit of a long story, Katt. But...I promise I'll tell you." She glanced up at her new employer. "Don't be so quick to judge them. They acted in the right. They did what they were meant to do. What I would have done." She sighed.

"****, Issy. For people who were supposed to be so close knit and like family, you don't act like that. I don't care if you went bat**** crazy and tried to kill them all." She grunted loudly. "I doubt very little that you could tell me that would change my mind about that. They shouldn't have discarded you. They should have worked with you."

She lowered her voice and said quite matter-of-factly, "I'm awaiting my court martial hearing." She cleared her throat, "Assuming there are any Scathachians left alive after what I did."

She paused for a moment, "Their leaving, I am guessing, is because of you. That also bothers me. That they can so quickly leave and abandon their duties and the people here." She was itching to know, for sure, but still. Leaning a bit she folded her arms and eyed Issy. "Explain? Or do you wish me to wait until you are ready?" Thanks, Issy. Add to the subject of curiosity.

"They did not abandon their duties here. Their duties were fulfilled. They stayed because they wanted to at the time, but..." She swallowed and was not fully ready to tell the whole story. But soon. "They left to go and defend our home against a war that is coming." She looked to Katt. "They left to save what lives they could." She had a knot in the pit of her stomach and it was too painful to continue. Maybe after a few drinks, she'd spill her guts to Katt more than she had already. And tell her the entire story. And after what Katt had just done for her, that night would probably be sooner rather than later.

"Then let me rephrase that. They abandoned a city with people who trusted them with their lives and protection. They just up and left. Not a word to anyone. Even if they went to save lives, Issy, they did abandon their duties here. They withdrew without a single care to anyone in this city. I do understand there is a war coming to them but you do not just go abandoning people without word like that. People who put their lives and trust in you." She exhaled through her nose and shook her head. "And why not ask the people that they have helped for aid against this war? Whatever it is. Rhydin has helped other nations and worlds before. Their methods are questionable, at best."

She nodded to Katt. She understood that it was difficult for outsiders to comprehend the old Scathachian ways, the laws that had stood for millennia. That outsiders could never know the location of their home, much less arrive to aid them in battle. She did not slight Katt one bit. She simply looked up to her friend and smiled softly. "It's okay, Katt. Really."

"Meh." That was her answer to that! "I will await to hear the full story." Just so Issy knew she wanted to hear it. For now she moved on. "Are you able to use electronics? Cell phones and such?"

She bit her bottom lip and wrinkled her nose. "That's all part of the job requirements, huh?" Oh, that learning curve is going to be fun.

"It could be added to the list of equipment but if you aren't able to I surely am not going to force you." She mused quietly as she watched Issy's face. "Unlike my brother I am not completely plugged in."

"I'll learn." She lifted her chin. After all, she loved a challenge.

Well that was unexpected. "Alright then. I will have a cell phone waiting for you with the equipment then. If anything it will allow us to keep in touch with each other in case you need something." She gestured and started to walk. "For now...let's get you to the suite." Because she wasn't going to let Issy go on that front.

And just like that, Isuelt had a roof over her head, the promise of steady income and food, and a purpose. Everything that had been stripped from her for her own foolishness and prideful ways. "And Katt..." For just a moment, words failed her.

She took a few steps but paused and looked over to Issy, "Mrm?"

She blinked and her tongue clicked silently at her teeth. She couldn't find adequate expression for what she felt. She felt as if Katt had just saved her life. She took a deep breath and let it out. "Thank you."

She blinked. Wow Issy was throwing her for loops tonight. Her expression softened and she smiled, something rarely seen. "Don't need to thank me, Issy." She had a feeling Issy might regret thanking her in the future!

"Yes." She quickly answered. "Yes, I do." And quite serious. She swallowed and shuddered, trying to keep her icy-cold exterior intact. However, it faltered for a glistening moment. She sniffed and glanced down, figuring Katt had seen enough of Isuelt's tears to last her a horrified lifetime.

"I am humbled." she offered quietly. "But truly do you think I would be the only one to offer you such a thing? Edward probably would have done the same. Ebon. You have people who care about you, Issy. People who aren't Scath." She didn't want to admit that it killed her seeing Issy like that though. "Now the job is a different story. You are going to be a great help!" She gestured again. "Now come on. It is late and you got a full day tomorrow."

Reaching behind her head, she tightened her ponytail and nodded, following Katt, her new employer. "Yes, ma'am." The smirk was back, by the way.

"Don't call me that!" Was an instant complaint.