Authors Note: ... please don't hurt me xD I went through a long period of being lazy, then a long period of school sucking away at my attention, and then along period of family drama and having no access to a computer. Even though I have finals to study for, I should be able to post weekly from now on. Enjoy! :D

The sky was beginning to turn a bright pink as I trudged through the packed snow. My legs were stiff and sore from the effort, and I longed to lay beside a warm fire. My stomach was empty and cried out for food, but I hadn't brought any with me on my short journey. As I approached the mountains, I sensed Teresa's aura within them, vibrant in the environment that housed so little amounts of life. Hers wasn't the only aura I picked up. There were two auras approaching her, and I felt the blood drain from my face when I realized who they belonged to. Noel and Sophia.

They've found us! The realization sent a jolt of panic through me, and, unsheathing my sword, I tapped into my yoki energy, which gave me a sudden burst of speed that propelled me toward the two warriors. They knew I was approaching, and instantly stopped, bracing themselves for the fight that was about to come.

I dashed up the incline of the massive rock, and I was before the two women within seconds. Screeching to a stop, I forced the yoki energy into my right arm, but before I could perform my quicksword, I noticed something unusual. Neither one of them had drawn their blades to defend themselves, and their silver colored uniforms were absent, leaving leather in their places. "We're not here for a fight, Irene," Sophia said softly.

Not trusting her words, I tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword. 'What is it, then?" I hissed, watching both of them carefully.

"We figured you two would be lonely without us," Noel said light-heartedly, to receive a whack on the back of the head from Sophia.

"Idiot," she growled, before looking me in the eyes. "We figured that fighting Teresa would be pointless, especially now, since you've rebelled with her. The Organization would drive us to our deaths if we had stayed, so, we left to find you two."

I paused, considering her words. They seemed honest, but they could have been lying. A bit uneasy, I sheathed my claymore and said, "your swords, give them to me." Noel handed me her blade without question, but Sophia seemed to be a bit more uneasy. Suppressing an inner conflict, she reluctantly handed me her sword. I held one in each hand and nodded toward the general direction of the cave where Teresa and Clare were located. They made their way toward it and I followed close behind. We didn't go very far before Teresa bounded toward us, sword in hand.

"Irene!" she gasped in relief. "I was worried about you, you were gone for so long and then these two…" her voice trailed off as she fixed her gaze on Noel and Sophia, frowning. Almost instantly, she snapped into her harsh warrior mold, leaving no trace of the concerned friend. "What are you two doing here?" she asked, her voice cold.

Sophia repeated what she told me, and Teresa held herself with the same caution that I had. "Well, then, prove it. Prove that you've really left the Organization."

"We don't have our uniforms and symbols anymore. Isn't that enough?" Noel asked, narrowing her eyes at Teresa.

"The organization held you within their headquarters," I said, changing the subject. "How did you escape?"

"We wanted to wait for when we were both given missions, but it seemed that our soul purpose was to be the leaders of an army against you two," Sophia said.

"They were putting all of their energy into creating new warriors," Noel added. "So, since we weren't allowed to leave, we waited until the activity was at a low before we stormed the place."

Teresa raised and eyebrow. "So you didn't just get up and leave?"

"Couldn't," Noel said simply. "We had guards."

"We didn't kill anyone," Sophia promised. "Just wounded them enough so they couldn't pursue us."

The tall blonde grunted and murmured a barely audible, "perhaps you should have."

Ignoring her, I told them, "You are allowed to stay with us. However, that doesn't mean we trust you by your words. You have to earn our trust." I glanced over at Teresa to see if she had any objections. She didn't say anything and, instead, marched back to the cave with a scowl on her face. I followed her, noel and Sophia a couple paces behind me.

What now? I thought to myself, sighing and watching as my breath swirled around my head.

Having finished my meal of stale bread and dried meat, I sat against the wall of the cave, shuddering as the cold stone touched my skin. Noel and Sophia also had something to eat, but not as much as I had. Teresa and Clare sat against the wall opposite me. The young girl rested her head on Teresa's lap, watching Noel and Sophia carefully. The girl still didn't trust me completely, and I doubted she would warm up to those two any faster. After all, the last time she saw them, they were trying to behead her adopted mother. The fact that I had returned their weapons to them seemed to make her even more nervous.

Noel gave a loud burp, much to Sophia's obvious distaste, and then said, "You know, we had a lot of trouble finding you two. We probably never would have, if we didn't know where to look."

This seemed to worry Teresa. "Was our choice that obvious?" she asked, her silver eyes wide.

Sophia shrugged. "Yes and no. It seems to me the most logical location, but also the most inconvenient. At one point, we were about ready to give up and try another direction."

My friend relaxed a bit, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, and then used that same hand to stroke Clare's side. "The Organization has unmatched patience... I fear that they'll find us."

"If they do find us," I added. "It won't be with ease. Not many people venture out here, and even if their warriors find us, they'll surely be exhausted and easy to take down."

Teresa sighed and said, "even I grow weary of fighting." She then closed her eyes, a sign that she wasn't going to take part in any more conversations.

"It seems like you three have had some hard times," Sophia noted, looking over at me.

"Aye," I sighed. 'Teresa has been panicking over every little thing.' I thought, but didn't voice it out loud. "We've had a few things drag us down." I didn't dare mention Clare, for fear of provoking Teresa, which I did not want to do, given her mood.

Sophia seemed to understand what I was talking about, glancing over at Clare, who was watching and listening to us, hanging on to every little thing we said or did. Noel, of course, seemed clueless. "Like what?" she asked, to receive another smack from Sophia. This time, she didn't tolerate it, and shoved Sophia's shoulder. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she growled at Sophia.

"You're a clueless moron, that's what's wrong with me."

"You want a fight, bitch?" Noel snarled, grabbing her sword.

"Not at all," Sophia said smoothly. "We already know who'll emerge victorious."

Noel stood, snarling like a feral animal. Before she could make a move, Teresa barked, "enough!" The short haired woman paled slightly at her voice. Clare had buried her face into Teresa's lap, and the woman had her hand on the girl's head. "This is no time to be fighting like two dogs over a scrap of meat. If you're going to stay here, you don't do anything that will cause you to use your yoki powers. Got it?"

Teresa's eyes had darkened while she spoke, which sent a shudder down my spine. Noel instantly sat down and averted her gaze. "Whatever," she muttered. "Sorry."

"Clare," Teresa said softly. "Sit with Irene for a bit, okay? I need to be alone."

"Teresa..." Clare whimpered, shaking her head and hugging Teresa's thigh. "No."

"Please, Clare?" Teresa said. "For me?"

That did the trick. Clare gave a big sigh before she, reluctantly, scuttled over to me and sat on my left, hugging her knees to her chest. Teresa stood and marched over to the mouth of the cave, pulling back the animal skin curtain I made and venturing out into the snow.

"Yes," I said, looking over at Sophia. "Hard times indeed. Plenty of baggage too."

Clare fell asleep an hour later, unintentionally resting her head on my shoulder while she snored. The cave obtained an uneasy, tense silence while Teresa was gone. She was still out there, and I could sense her pacing back and forth along the rocky slope. I should go talk to her. I thought. In a way, I was afraid to venture out and coax her back inside. Teresa, while she usually had perfect control, tended to get violent when she was angry. Back when we were in training, several of our comrades had obtained broken teeth and bones from her short bursts of angry rage. She had never once injured me unless she had to. I didn't want that to change.

"You should go talk to her," Sophia said a moment after the thought crossed my mind. "I don't want her to be too angry with us... and you're the only one here who could calm her down. The only one awake, anyway."

I began to shrug, but instantly stopped because I didn't want to wake the sleeping girl. "She said she wanted to be alone," I murmured. "I respect that."

Noel tossed her head. "You have to, Irene. Otherwise, we'll have to leave."

Teresa was good at holding grudges. Even if she didn't force Noel and Sophia away, she would be angry for so long that they would practically have to anyway. "Fine," I grunted. Slowly, carefully, I took Clare's head from my shoulder and laid her on the floor. She didn't even stir. After taking a deep breath to release my nerves, I stepped out of the cave to search for my friend.

Teresa wasn't hard to find, just hard to get to. When I reached her, she became very still and watched me with a piercing gaze. "Well?" she asked with her eyes, not with her mouth.

"There's more depth to why your stormed out of the cave than what was happening in that moment," I observed. "Would you like to talk about it?"

She began to turn away, but I stepped forward and grabbed her wrist, holding it firmly in my grip. "Please," I whispered. "You're always telling me to open up."

"But you don't, Irene." she said in a harsh tone. "Not unless I force you too." Teresa wouldn't meet my gaze. Instead, her eyes locked onto the snow around her feet, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"You know it's not an easy thing for me to do," I told her.

"I know..." Teresa's expression became unreadable in that moment. For awhile, we both stood there without speaking and the only noise was the occasional gust of wind. When I became aware of the fact I was still holding her wrist, and that she had grasped mine as well, I felt blood rush to my face and had the urge to speak.

"Sophia and Noel... their presence, it bothers you?"

Teresa nodded, gripping my wrist a little tighter. "You'll think I'm a fool," she said, on the verge of a hysterical chuckle.

"I won't," I assured her. "Please, tell me."

"No," her voice was harsh once again and attempted to turn away, but I grabbed her other wrist, holding her in place. "I don't want to hurt you, Irene."

"Then don't, it's unnecessary."

Her face tightened into a scowl and she looked me in the eyes. "You're only here because Noel and Sophia want me to kiss and make up with them."

I was appalled by the idea. "Of course not!" I snapped. "I care about you, Teresa. That's why I pursued you, and why I'm still with you now. That's why I'm talking to you right now."

I could feel Teresa's anger simmer down and the scowl melted from her face, leaving a soft expression in its place.

"Please…" I said again. "I need to know."

The woman gathered herself, pondering over the thoughts that zipped through her brain, before she spoke. "I... don't want them here. They would be beneficial to our rebellion, but I don't want them here." She paused before she spoke again. "I wanted to be alone with Clare. I wanted to give her peace, an end to the hardships she's had to endure... And you: the Organization kept us apart on purpose, and when you were sent after me, I realized just how much I missed you. I would have been content to be alone with you two for a long, long time."

I didn't know how to respond to that. Hesitantly, I took half a step closer as if to comfort her. "I would be content with that as well, but it's not realistic. We need them, Teresa. And in turn, they need us."

Teresa lifted her head, and our closeness made me a bit uneasy, but at the same time, I enjoyed it. She made no effort to hide that fact that she was taking in my scent, adding to the shrinking of my comfort zone. "I don't need them, Irene," she said ever so softly. Teresa closed the gap between us, slipping her wrists out of my grasp and wrapping her arms around my waist. Her lips parted, pressing ever so gently against mine. I melted at the contact, and I barely had time to return the kiss before she pulled away and, without saying a word, stalked off toward our shelter.

For a long moment, I stood there in the cold, my fingers resting against my lips as I fed from that brief moment, knowing that my view of Teresa would be forever changed.

Authors Note: You can probably guess what my decision was about the TeresaXIrene relationship was. Just keep in mind that I'm TERRIBLE with romance, so having low expectations would probably prove to be beneficial for you xD