“Well,” Curt began with a shrug as they started back towards the main part of the house and began to descend the staircase. “I’ll be roaming the house a lot so I’d assume they’d either follow me or find their own places they wanted to be. Which is why I thought it was going best to show you the complete set up of the house.” A simple nod rose and fell his head as he pushed open the front door and the two arrived back at her car.

Climbing inside they started back to the shelter. “So I have some more questions, if I may.” With her permission, he began, knowing he’d have to ask more difficult questions now. “Do you make wishes?” Ooohhh man this was going to be hard for him. His stomach slowly turned into a knot as he began asking the questions that would lead down the road to what he ultimately needed to know.

She laughed a little as she followed him out to the car. Looks like she still had to help him buy a lot of dog stuff when they got back to the clinic. At his question, she paused for a moment. The look that crossed her expression then was different than before. Slowly, she pulled the car off to the side of the road. Her green eyes lost their luster, and the fire behind them turned into a saddened daze. She parked the car and turned it off, her arms folding over the steering wheel. For a long time, she just stared at the hood of her car.

"All the time." She whispered finally, turning her head to look out of her window and keep the back of her head to the man. "Sometimes, though.. I make the same wishes. There's....a few.. that I wish for every day." Her tone was softer when she spoke, and despite the accent, she sounded almost broken. As if something inside her had been crushed. Truth be told, it had.

Her pause startled him as she pulled the car over. Was she going to push him out of her car? Yell at him for going into her personal lives and thoughts? Was he being that weird?? His body tensed as he was preparing himself to be forced out of the car by the young woman only to realize she was reminiscing.

His face dropped into a frown when she finally talked. Unbuckling his seat belt, he turned to her and tilted his head to one side. Sure he was getting a bit off topic but he couldn’t help it. “Can… can I ask what you wish for every day?” Reaching over he placed a large hand gently on her forearm trying to break here of her intense stare at the window. Sometimes it was easier to talk when you had a kind face to talk to and right now, Curt had every desire to be at kind face.

What was she doing? Why was she opening up like this? She couldn't explain it. Maybe she just needed to get it off her chest. For a long while, she didn't move. Finally, she turned to look at him when she spoke. Tears fell from her eyes, slowly trickling down her cheeks as she watched him. "The thing...I wish for..." She started. "...is that my parents were still alive." She explained. "They died...because of me. Because I....Because I couldn't help them." Her hands tightened around the steering wheel in a white knuckled grip as she closed her eyes against her tears. His hand was still on her forearm, and though she didn't realize it, Curt saw the memory as vividly as if it were his own.



The memory flash faded, and by the time it was done, Alyssa could do little more than cry into her hands as her body shook from the memory. The day everything in her life had changed. The day she'd caused her parents' murder.

The vision was intense and it was no wonder that she felt like she was the one who caused it all. Unfortunately, as friends with the Gods/Goddesses of Fate, he knows all too well when it’s your time to go it’s your time to go no matter how it effects and how it happens. A soft sigh left him when he came out of his trance and found her crying in the seat with her hands cupped over her face.

Opening the car door he climbed out and walked around the car to her side. Pulling the door open he couched her out of the car and took her to the side of the road. Something in his gut told him it was time, it was now or never. “Look Alyssa, some wishes can’t come true. But you need to do what these flowers need to do. You may be as beat down and worn out like they are but…” He squatted down and pushed aside the water deprived and thirsty was little sprouts of new life. “Underneath you’re growing something that your foundation built. Something that may take a while to bloom but…” He gently waved his hand over the greenery and the little bulb at the top began to grow towards the sun and opened to reveal a bright red flower. “With the proper care everything will be okay in the end.” Standing up he took her hand gently and gave her a soft smile.

“It’s okay to be sad, it’s okay to cry but time moves forward and it’s your foundation that made you who you are. You must never forget that and continue to grow into the beautiful flower you are destined to be.” His free hand brushed some loose hair behind her ear. “Do you have any other wishes?” His voice was soft, calm and inviting honesty.

She was a little too shocked to protest when he took her out of her car. About half way through his speech, she had managed to stop crying. And then he waved his hand and the bud he'd been showing her grew right before her eyes. Okay, that was not normal. Even if he was some sort of really, really good magician, there was no way he could have done that. She rubbed her eyes, expecting the flower to be gone. But it was still there. Her mind suddenly jumped a hundred miles a minute. Who the hell was this guy? How had he made that flower grow? Or was she just going insane?

She stared at him, the warmth of his hand still on hers as her skin paled. He wasn't human, was he? That gut feeling she'd had before came back to her again. Her brows furrowed when he asked her if she had any other wishes. She rose a brow at him for a moment before giving a somewhat cautious smile. "I wish every animal at the clinic would get adopted." She spoke a bit weakly. "And, speaking of clinic? We should probably go, huh?" She pulled away from him and got back into the car. Once he was inside, she started back to the clinic. "Hey, listen. Thanks...for the pep talk. And I'm sorry I broke down on you like that."

If she got back to the clinic and found every pet in there adopted, she was going to flip.

As she pulled away from him, he gently snapped his fingers on his free hand before their hand parted ways. Climbing back into the car he gave a small shrug with his broad shoulders. “It’s okay; I enjoy helping people when I can. Glad I could be of assistance.” He said with a nod and a gentle smile. Placing his elbow up on the window ceil, his dark gaze scanning the area as they drove. Earth truly was beautiful.

The arrival back at the clinic was unexpected. A news van was unloading recording and camera equipment taking it into the clinic. A news reporter was talking to the young girl behind the desk laughing and smiling. Gabbing away as two women do; as Curt and Alyssa entered the building the conversation had continued.

“We are doing an animal interest piece about local adoption centers. What we’re going to do is easy, we discuss at the beginning of the show the requirements for adopting an animal and show the animals on TV. When someone calls in, we’ve hired inspectors to go check the house residence and if they pass, the animal will go home today. If not we keep going until we find a home for the little guy.”

“How many people did you get to inspect? Do they even know what they’re looking for?”

“There are a lot of retired veterinarians and veterinarian assistances looking for something to do with their free time. We talked about it on the news last week and volunteers flocked to us. If this works out well we’ll be doing more clinics in the area”

“Wow!” The girl behind the counter’s eyes sparkled with joy as the reporter giggled and went to the podium area where they were setting up to bring out the animals. “This is so exciting! Oh Alyssa! You’re not going to believe what just happened! It’s a miracle!!” Even the veterinarian who was on sight had tears in his eyes as everything seemed to be going perfectly smooth.

“So… Do I still get Juna and Kima?” Curt asked in a questioning tone as he scanned over the crew who were swooning over the animals ready. His ‘handy work’ you could say, his magic brought the idea to the producers and boy those producers work fast.

She could barely believe it was happening. Her eyes widened when she looked at the camera crews. She'd made a wish, and for once, it might actually come true. She turned to Curt, staring at him for a long moment in shock. She'd seen him make a flower bloom. Now this. Was this his handy work? Her shocked look turned into a beaming smile of happiness, and she couldn't help herself. She turned, hugging him tightly.

"Yes, you still get them." She laughed. "I don't know what you are, but you're awesome!"

She helped him pick out all the supplies needed for the two dogs he would be taking home after that; leashes, collars, tags, bowls, toys, food, flea medication, bedding, crates, treats, and brushes. Soon, though, she found herself interviewed on the animals. What had started as a slow day quickly turned hectic. At one point, she found herself pulled away from him to help tell the stories of the pets needing homes. At the end of the day, though, and after the news crews had left, she found herself apologizing for making him wait for Juna and Kima as she brought the eager pups out to their new owner with a light smile.

"Here they are." She smiled. "Thank you so much for taking these two."

Curt wouldn’t have predicted that something else was going to happen until she jumped at him and gave him a tight hug. Almost instantly, he wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug. A hug… a hug felt so nice and she smelled divine. A small sigh left Curt when they let go. “Don’t worry about it.” He said with a nod as they began to gather up the things that he needed.

Despite her getting pulled away from him on more than one occasion he was okay with it. By the time they were finally finished almost every animal was gone and the crew was finishing up with the last few. Soon they would all be adopted. She presented him his two dogs and his things while he paid for everything in the human cash. Taking the leaches, the dogs seemed to be ready to go, jumping back and forth and braking happily.

“Alyssa, there is something else I need to talk to you about but I’d rather do it in private. If you get some free time please come by my home.” With that he gave her a bright smile and a nod. “Thanks again, take care.” With that and his things, along with the dogs, he walked outside. Once out of sight, he gathered up the dogs in his arms and flew back towards the mansion at lightning speed.

It was surprising how well the other gods came to like the animals and they were greeted with open arms. The weekend rolled around and the Gods were pressuring him to get Alyssa to the mansion so they could talk to her. “Give her time. We can’t pressure her into anything or she won’t help us. Just let me talk to her.” At that he took the animals into the front year and proceeded to play fetch with them laughing all the while.

She had agreed to go back to the mansion when he'd asked that day, and she'd had every intention of going the next day. Unfortunately, work got busy and with all of the animals adopted out, there wasn't much need for her at the clinic. The fact that it even happened still blew her mind. She couldn't figure out how he'd done it. But he had. He'd made her wish come true. Well, that one anyway. It was around four that afternoon when she arrived, pulling up to the mansion out of sheer memory. She was nervous for some reason. There were so many unanswered questions she had. And there was probably going to be a lot more before the day was over.

She got out of her car, standing by the door as she looked up at the mansion. She'd been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed whether or not anyone was outside. Of course, it was her day off, so she was dressed much differently this time than she had been when she first met Curt. A simple pair of cuffed denim shorts hugged her hips and legs, paired with black heels and a red, short sleeved crop top. Her hair was pulled into a pony tail and she had make up on. She wasn't even sure why she'd done that. It wasn't like she was there for a date. It was just instinct. Something that told her she needed to be presentable.

The sound of a dog barking drew her attention, causing her to come out of her thoughts. She looked just in time to be run over by Kima and fall against the side of her car, laughing as she tried to get him to stop licking at her and pouncing on her. "Hey! Knock it off, Kima. It's good to see you too." She giggled.

Being one of the few gods who had taken a particular interest in earth, he was in a green t-shirt with dark blue jeans and black shoes as he played with the dogs outside. So focused on his play time as he pulled the ball from Juna’s tiny mouth, he didn’t realize a car had pulled up. Finally getting the ball, he followed the bounding puppy towards the noise and gave a bright dazzling smile to Alyssa.

Getting to her, he reached down and grabbed Kima’s collar gently pulling the dog off of her. “Well hello from all three of us.” He said with a chuckle as he helped her to her feet. “Thanks for coming. I hope you had a good few days.” They proceeded with light happy conversation as he led her around the back throwing the ball as they went.

“Please, have a seat.” He said gesturing to the nice bench that awaited them in the back yard before the dogs went off and played together. “So… I hate to change this subject so dramatically but you said that you would help those in need, even if the situation seemed difficult because you’re not one to give up right?” When she responded he took a deep breathe. Leaning forward he placed his elbows on his knees and folded his hands together. During their time apart, the gods learned that they weren’t able to use their abilities except for when Curt was with her. He tried without her but with no luck. That’s when he learned just how important she actually was.

“I, and others like me, they’re in the house, need your help. You… you saw what I did to the flower, and you thought I was awesome when the television crew showed up. But I’m not awesome, I need your help. What I’m about to ask you will be a lot for you to take in, and even more to understand… but…” He let out a shaky sigh, finally raising his deep brown gaze to look up at her. “there is literally nowhere else we can turn. Will you at least hear me out?”

She couldn't help but laugh the whole time the easy conversation had been going on. She had apologized about the wait, explaining work had been busy lately, but the subject mostly lingered on how the dogs were doing. She was glad to see them so happy in their new home, and thankful she had the chance to see it for herself. When they sat down, her laughter stopped. Mostly because Curt suddenly became very serious. Whatever it was must be pretty bad. But then he said he needed her help. Him, and other people like him. Her brows furrowed. What did that even mean? Were there others who could grant wishes too?

When he asked her if she would hear him out, she paused. It was hard for her to believe anyone would need her help for much of anything to be honest. Her best skill outside of her work was cooking. Although her brothers liked to claim she was a good singer. After a moment, she nodded her head. "I'll listen." She agreed quietly. "I at least owe you that much, after what you did for the animals at the clinic. Thanks to that news segment, we have a waiting list for adoptees so full we're back-logged for the next year."

When she agreed to listen, he let out the air he had been holding in. Boy, just hearing that she would listen met a lot to him. He had lost countless hours of sleep and debated many different ways he could talk to her about this and to be honest, he was nervous. His hands played with one another as he turned his attention to the ground in front of him. Boy… here was the task.

“Well,” He began after a moment of silence, “I’m glad what I could do clinic has continued to be positive. It really means a lot to hear that. But it seems like I’ve lost my ability to do it again. And that… that’s not normal; but I have a theory, indulge me for a moment.” He held out his left hand to her and when she took it he snapped his fingers. A beautiful red rose appeared in his hand. “Just as I thought.” Gently turning her hand upright he placed the thorn-less rose into her palm. “Thank you.”

At that he let go of her hand and leaned back against the bench. “I feared as much…” His gaze landed on the playing dogs before he gave a smile across his full lips. “Then again it could be worse.” The chocolate colored stare of Curt’s rolled back to Alyssa and gave her a small shrug. “It seems like my powers don’t work without touching you. You see, I have the ability to grant wishes; such as your wish for the clinic. That requires power which is suppressed but, while touching you; I seem to have the ability to use my powers once again. Interesting… Is this making sense? I still have more but I don’t want to overwhelm you or leave you with any unanswered questions.”

She blinked in surprise, her head tilting slightly. He couldn't use his powers without touching her? Her brows furrowed as she looked down at the rose in her hands. She'd seen him make a flower grow before, so it didn't shock her too much. But she was the only way he could use his power? That look crossed her expression again as she went into her thoughts. If that was the case, then probably the others he'd mentioned were in the same boat. Which meant there were a bunch of people she hadn't met yet that probably needed the same kind of help Curt did. Which meant she had to get use to a bunch of people touching her to do things.

Her brows furrowed again as she turned the rose back and forth between her fingers. So that was her choice, huh? Turn her back on people who could potentially do a lot of good in the world, or get use to someone's hands being on her somehow. She nodded her head after a few moments. There wasn't really a choice. Being touched wasn't such a bad thing so long as no one tried touching anywhere they shouldn't. She sighed, turning her head to look at him finally, her green eyes meeting his chocolate gaze.

"Well." She smiled. "There's not much of a choice, is there? I don't know how well it'll work with you guys living here and me at my place, but if all of you can do even half of what you've done already, then you have the potential to make this world a better place. So if all you've gotta do is touch me somehow, then I'll help. Just don't go getting any weird ideas and grabbing me somewhere you shouldn't." She laughed a little.

Curt had never been so finicky in his life. Even leaning back in as causal of a manner as he could, he was playing with this thumbs and his leg was bouncing in a nearly uncomfortable fashion. His palms began to sweat and nervousness was kicking in. Man, he could do speeches in front of the kingdom, he could face the all-knowing king of the heavens and yet seeing next to a human and asking for their help was the most stressful thing he had ever encountered.

When she finally spoke, his anxiety vanished and relief filled his body, his shoulders dropped as a sign of relaxation and his palms became much less sweaty. “There’s always a choice; you can say no, you can say I’m nuts and leave. And I wouldn’t blame you. But you’re a kind person and I thank you for that. And don’t worry, I’ll make it clear to everyone it is hand holding only.” He gave a firm nod followed by a polite smile. “I’ll look after you; you don’t need to worry about anything. Though, I suppose I should introduce myself properly. I am Curt, and I am the God of the Cancer constellation. I work for a place called The Department of Wishes and I am the Vice-Director of the department. I and two other gods from this department are down here on earth. Our job is to grant the wishes of the humans.”

“There is another department from the heavens here too. The Department of Punishments; I know that may sound scary but think of it more like karma. It’s their job to insure those who do bad things learn from their mistakes and, hopefully, make better choices in the future.” Giving her a genuine smile he explained a little further, “Don’t worry about where you live, we have basic powers to make food and transportation. We can connect any door with the front door of the mansion. So we can come get you or have you come here. Some of us will probably do our work here in the mansion at the pools you saw in the basement. And some of us, myself included, would want to go into the human world to do our work.”

“This is probably a lot for you to process but the reason we can only use our major powers with you is because you are the reincarnation of a goddess. You can’t see them but you have stars in your eyes to prove it.” Without giving it much thought he leaned towards her looking her directly in the eyes. “They really are beautiful…”His voice was soft, low and whispering, as if it was a secret. “Oh,” He quickly pulled back and shook his head, “I’m sorry, now I’m being weird; I apologize.”

“Do you have any questions for me? I know the others would like to meet you but I don’t want you to feel too bombarded with all this information before you have to encounter more people.” His honest and carrying nature showing through as he gave her a friendly smile.

He was a huh? And she was a what? She blinked as he continued to speak. Why wasn't she more freaked out about this? She should have been screaming he was nuts. Running to her car. Calling police. Something. So why wasn't she? Truth be told, she was just drawing a blank. Her body wouldn't react to anything it should be doing. She could only stare at him. And then he leaned closer to her and she felt her cheeks heat up like she had a high fever, her body freezing in place as her eyes met his and her cheeks turned bright red.

"Wouldn't it just be easier if I moved in?" She questioned, her voice a bit higher in pitch. Why was that the only question she could think of? She should be asking him how in the hell he expected her to believe....well, any of it. Those were the things she should have been saying. And yet, she felt a strange sense of calm. Maybe it was because she'd witnessed first hand the sort of thing he was capable of. It made sense that he would be some sort of God with what he could do.

Her eyes turned back to the mansion, and her brows furrowed. "...I should probably be freaking out right now." She muttered. "But...I don't know. In a weird way, it all makes sense to me. So.. yeah. I'll help. And I suppose the sooner we get the introductions out of the way the better. I mean, if I'm really some sort of reincarnated Goddess and all that... I guess this is why I'm here, right?"

“Move in?” He repeated, as if the thought never occurred to him. A thought-filled gaze moved across his face as he weighed the options of her staying with them versus living on her own. “I suppose that could work. The house has all the things you would need to function in your day to day human routine but we won’t be in need of help 24 hours a day; our job does consist of a lot of paperwork too. The only thing is that…” He let out a long sigh before looking around and enjoying the scenery. “We don’t know how long we’ll be here. Personally I don’t care. I could be here or there and be happy.”

“As much as we all appreciate your help, my goal is not to interfere with your daily life and routine. If moving in is the option you’d like to take, the only room that’s left doesn’t have its own bathroom so you’d have to use the one down the hall. Or you can have my room and I’ll sleep in guest one. Whatever’s the most comfortable for you.” Reaching over he picked up one of her hands and brought it to his lips, placing a gentle kind kiss on the back of her hand. “Thank you for being so understanding Alyssa, we are really in a pickle and it’s only you who can help us.” He gently let go of her hand and stood up.

Letting out a whistle, the dogs stopped playing and bounded over to them. Scratching each of them on their heads he turned to her as he tossed the ball up and down in the air. “Well, if you have no more questions other than moving in or not, we better go meet the rest of the gang.” His smile was bright and welcoming as he gestured towards the inside of the house.

She laughed a little, nodding her head. "Trust me, going down a hall to the bathroom won't be an issue. Besides. If there's Gods here that are pulling out wishes and punishments, and I'm some sort of key for all of you doing that... well. Usually that means that for one reason or another, there's going to be something bad that wants to stop it, and my life is going to become something akin to hell. I've seen enough movies to know there's always evil to the good guys so I'd rather stay close to someone who might be able to at least keep me from being fried by some sort of demon or something."

She laughed a little at that. It was a silly thing to think, really. But who knew, right? For all she knew, every myth and legend imaginable could be real and she suddenly had a very strong urge to hide in a hole. "Besides. It'll be an improvement. Plus I can cook. I don't know if you guys actually eat, being gods and all. Not to mention if you go out in public alone you could risk drawing attention to yourselves and trust me. Humans react to things they don't understand in one of two ways. With awe, or fear. And generally people who fear something have the first reaction to kill it." She frowned. "Which is why I don't like people a lot of times...Animals are easier to deal with. Kids are the exception usually. Always full of hope even in dark times."

She turned toward the house, standing from the bench as she gave him a light smile. "Let's get this over with then, aye? The sooner I get meself- er...myself... situated, the sooner I'll be able to get use to all this." She was still blushing from the way he'd looked at her, even more when he'd kissed the back of her hand, and now that her accent had come out rather thick, she was about the color of a cherry. It'd been a while since it'd come out that hard.

“Traditionally we don’t need food to survive, in the heavens we just eat for entertainment. But how does that earth saying go… ‘When in Rome’? Yeah that sounds right. Besides, our energy depletes a lot faster here on earth so we must eat and sleep to regain our strength.” He gave a shrug to his broad shoulders as he threw the ball up and down into the air. Her accent made him grin, a playful grin that said he liked the way it sounded before he held the door open for her and they entered the house.

In the sitting room sat the gods, two were in the white suite with gold arm bands matching what Curt had worn when they first met and the other three were in black suites with silver arm bands.

The first one to her was Axel, as the only one standing he seemed to approach her in a timid fashion; almost shy and reserved but he still spoke up first. “So you’ve agreed to help us?” He asked in a shy manner, almost a whisper, his green gaze moved over her shoulder to Curt who nodded, his eyes rejoiced and his body relaxed as he extended his hand to her. “I am Axel, God of Gemini. And I work for the Department of Punishments.” After shaking her hand, he pointed towards the woman who was leaning against the wall. Her piercing blue eyes staring daggers at Alyssa of automatic dislike, “That’s Scorpio, she is the god of the Scorpio constellation. Don’t worry; she takes a while to warm up to people. She’s also the vice director of the Department of Punishments.”

Alexander was the next to speak up; he rose from his chair and gave her a polite nod. “I am Alexander, God of Libra and I am the Director of the Department of Punishments.”

Hue turned his deep gaze from his book up to Alyssa and gave her a small wave. “I’m Hue, God of Aquarius. I am a member of the Department of Wishes and that’s Leon, God of Leo who is our department head.”

Leon had been lounging in a large chair watching the human as soon as she walked in. His amber-golden gaze staring her down with intensity; rising to his feet he walked to her. Looking her in the eye leaving barely any gap between them he stared her down. “Goldfish, you will do as we say without complaint.” His tone was an ‘matter of fact’ tone as if there was no room for debate.

That’s why Curt slid in between them, one of the few people who could not only keep Leon under control but reason with him as well. “She has offered her services in more ways than we can imagine. She’s volunteered to live here with us…” The room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop but Curt continued to speak, ignoring the silence or the questioning look the intimidating Leon was giving him. “We shouldn’t interfere with her life that would destroy her balance and cause her trouble. We as gods cannot permit that. It would be best to let her come and go as she pleases. That way she is relaxed and comfortable when we need her assistance.” While most of the gods nodded in agreement and Scorpio clicked her tongue in annoyance over the fact that the woman would be living with them; Leon stared Curt down for a moment, the two men never breaking eye contact.

Then Leon scuffed, as if Curt had won and went back to his seat. “Great, now that introductions are out of the way, let’s get you moved in.” He said with a grin as he turned back to her. “Come with me, I want to show you something cool.”

He led her to the front door and placed his hand on it. “Now you placed your hand on the door as well and imagine your home.” It took an extra moment but soon the door radiated a faint white light and Curt removed his hand and gestured for her to open the handle. Sure enough, when she opened the door, on the other side was her current home. “Now we’ll just carry things inside and up to your room. Neat huh?”

"You eat for entertainment?" She blinked. When he mentioned the bit about needing to eat and sleep, she couldn't help but giggle a little. It must really be a change for these people to suddenly have to do human things. When they got to the sitting room, she blinked, noting all the people there. There were more than she thought there'd be. The first to approach her seemed shy, and she couldn't help but give him a small smile.

"Yep. I'll help." She confirmed Curt's words even as he nodded. Axel. She'd have to remember that one. She'd have to remember all of them, really. Especially since she would be working with all of them to help them with....whatever it was they were doing there. She nodded to Alexander politely, though her brow raised when she saw the look Scorpio gave her. And then that Irish blood kicked in and she gave an easy smirk to the woman in amusement. Her attention turned to Hue, then Leon, who invaded her personal bubble so closely she could only blink at him. And then he spoke. Before she could do anything, though, Curt was between them in a flash with logic and stability.

She blinked, tilting her head at him from behind. She couldn't help but smile. He was full of surprises. Still, Leon annoyed her. A moment later, she found herself dragged to a door and showed that trick where they could just open one to wherever she was. That...was a little disturbing. She pulled back from the door after a moment and sighed.

"Before we get to that.." She spoke up, turning to look pointedly at Leon. "Me name's Alyssa ya half-cocked numbnut. Now we're gonna get a few things straight a'fore we get to doin' anythin'." That accent was back. Apparently it came out thicker when she wasn't focusing on it. Or when she was angry. "Now I've agreed to 'elp ye with whatever it is yer doin' here. So think of me as a business partner. We're goin' over rules an' yer either gonna deal with 'em or I'm gonna be marchin' me arse right through that door an' slammin' it in yer faces."

She paused for a moment, taking a breath. "Like Curt said; I got a life of me own to handle. So while I'll be 'elpin' ye when ya need it, yer gonna be respectin' me privacy. First of all. Keep yer bloody hands to yerselves. Only place yer allowed ta touch me is me hands or shoulders. Second. Don't be gettin' up in me face all half-cocked cause I ain't afraid to lay upside yer skulls with whatever I find closest. Stay outta me stuff, stay outta me car unless yer invited in, and make sure ye knock a'fore ya come in me room. Ye might be Gods or what have ye, but so far, I only actually know Curt. So keep in mind that the lot of ye need me way more'n I be needing you."