Settling in? Or... maybe not.

The Seraph nods to Nari, and smiles at Soraya, offering her his arm. He can guess why she'd much prefer his company, though he hopes he might aid this rather wild child of a girl as well. One can but hope...

"That sounds as a reasonable plan. In that case, if you might know of such a place, Soraya, and guide us there for this talk? After all, some memories are simply not comfortable when aired in public. Mister Everett, perhaps we might see you with this Master Eric person after? Or if not, I hope we do run across each other again fairly soon... though I am not certain when I shall next be allowed to wander these halls, after that incident, even with an escort," he chuckles wryly, not minding amusement at his own expense.

<Perhaps I might be able to aid in this child's distress. Something in her past was truly terrible. Not that Mister Everett has had an easy time of it, either, from what I feel from him. These have been truly trying times for all... Perhaps I should offer to Radu, to meet others so traumatized here, if only to offer such aid? Though how well I may yet conceal my nature then, I am not certain... I may need assistance with such sessions to avoid that leaking out,> he suggests to Soraya, allowing Michael to overhear.

Nari finished off the last bit of her lunch, though she saved the apple, slipping it into her backpack. "I know, but you want to know what it's like out there...and I've been trying to avoid you...but..." She glanced over at Michael. "...I've been told I shouldn't run any more."

She excused herself long enough to put her used dishes in the marked area, noting that there was two people already there washing dishes, but both of them didn't look happy to be there. Nari really didn't have a problem with washing dishes, she liked making things clean, and especially liked keeping herself clean.

As she was returning to Soraya and Nait, she wondered if there was a way to get a few more changes of clothing, aside from the two sets she'd been given her first night. Not a lot more, but something for a little more variety. "Okay, I'm ready...I think..." She glanced at Michael one more time, then followed Nait and Soraya from the room.

Michael smiled encouragingly at Nari as Soraya and Naitachel led her away. He frowned unconsciously as she left, his features revealing something of worry. There was something else, there, however, under the worry, perhaps a little pride in the girl's bravery. It took guts, after all, to face down and discuss a past like hers.

<I'd do what I could,> Michael responded to Naitachel, though he knew that once rumor mills started running amongst these colonists, it was hard to stop them. It was one of the side-effects of living in such close, confined quarters with only a handful of others.

"You ready?" Michael finally asked Everett before gesturing toward the exit and leading him toward the area where he sensed Eric was.

-----

<I will let you discuss that with Radu> Soraya responded with an inward sigh, knowing that even such a small thing might be enough to put the seraph at risk, <though you are right. Perhaps we should ensure you are in close proximity to the girl as she begins to open up.>

Aloud, Soraya chatted idly to both Nari and Naitachel, trying to hide the fact that she had gotten herself turned around (twice) before finally reaching the door that led to the family's private area. "I am glad that you finally feel comfortable enough to talk to us about everything," she finally said, her voice softening as she ushered the girl and seraph into the quieter study, where they were less likely to be interrupted.

"Just know that we are here to listen to whatever you need to share, and that you need only speak of what you feel comfortable telling us," she said, inviting Nari to sit on a loveseat, leaving room for Naitachel to sit next to the girl while Soraya herself took her place in a chair across from the two.

<Thank you for everything, but I will be fine without your comfort for the time being. As you suggested, Nari will likely need you more than I, I fear,> the redhead informed the seraph, bracing herself for the nausea's return.

"Perhaps you should start at the beginning, then?" Soraya suggested after ensuring that Nari was comfortable.

The Seraph perches beside Nari on the edge of the loveseat at a bit of an angle, long robes (and wings and tail, with it) trailing off the side behind him. He offers the girl his hand, as if to provide something to squeeze for merely psychological support... though it is really to use his calming influence on her, and soothe her with his empathy--to try easing the pain of her past.

Soraya wrote:

<Thank you for everything, but I will be fine without your comfort for the time being. As you suggested, Nari will likely need you more than I, I fear,> the redhead informed the seraph, bracing herself for the nausea's return.
"Perhaps you should start at the beginning, then?" Soraya suggested after ensuring that Nari was comfortable.

Naitachel nods to agree to both women, and watches Nari intently, hoping even speaking of her past with them might help her recover somewhat from the trauma.

Nari settled down on the loveseat, feeling a little more nervous and unsure of herself now that she was alone with Naitachel and Soraya. "To start at the beginning...." She shifted some on the seat, not taking Nait's hand, though she noticed it there. "I, um...well, I guess I should start with my full name, Narissa Marlow. I was raised in a small town just a few hours away from Washington, DC." She pulled her backpack onto her lap and dug through it for the photograph. Glass tinkled in the bag and she winced some as she jabbed her finger on a piece. She'd have to clean it out once she was in her room. She pulled out the picture frame though, turning it to show Nait and Soraya. Her face was unreadable, her voice distant, as though she was speaking of someone else. "This picture was taken a year before I was kidnapped. When I was eight years old, I went on a school field trip to Washington, DC. The bus never got there...everyone on the bus was kidnapped." Her voice grows a bit faint as she continues talking. "We didn't know what was going on at first, because no one took over the bus, the driver just drove us into a warehouse, and the bus was gassed. When we woke, we were packed into rooms, our hands bound. We were taken out one at a time, dragged to even smaller rooms and stripped naked, cleaned, then....then...." She shuddered, unable to speak of it. Instead, she slid off the couch and pulled the back of her shirt up, all the way up to expose the brand burnt into her skin. She shivered, biting at her lower lip as she let them see the brand. "We were then thrust in front of a camera, turned about and exposed....then...sold."

Nari yanked her shirt back down and dropped back onto the seat, drawing her knees up to her chest. In the same distant voice she related all that had happened to her after that, how she was sold, how she was beaten for speaking her mind, beaten until she learned to keep her mouth shut and just do her work. How every night a girl would be taken from the dormitory and return the next morning, covered in bruises and weeping. Nari hadn't known what had happened to them until she herself was chosen one night. She struggled to relate what had happened to her, how she had been used, beaten if she fought back.

"Then, just over a year ago, the city was bombed again, and the house was hit. We took the opportunity to escape, not bothering to grab anything, just saving ourselves. I returned home first, only to discover that the neighborhood had taken the brunt of the bombings too...not every home was completely destroyed, but they were all damaged and all deserted." Slow tears welled in her eyes, running unnoticed down her cheeks as she hugged her knees tighter to her chest, closing her eyes. "I don't even know if my family survived." She whispered softly, barely audible.

She then related how she traveled to New York City, falling in with a gang there, learning how to take care of herself on the street. She constantly looked over her shoulder though, worried that the slavers would snatch her back up, or that the gang leader might decide to sell her back for the money. When he started making moves on her, she left, grabbing what she could before running away. "I traveled mostly at night, taking trains and buses, or just walking. It's not all bad out there though, but I didn't feel safe. Some areas are almost like normal, others...well...I learned how to spot the signs and avoid them. I heard lots of stories, of how some cities had barred any outsiders, others required 'payment'. Then I heard the rumor about this place, and decided to come here. I....I just want to be safe."

Naitachel closes his eyes, dismayed and saddened... but gathers his spiritual power to him, and once Nari has finished her sad tale, opens his eyes once more, flaring the power to clense the room. With the faint rush of warmth, the gentle scent of sage and grasses, comes a soothing sense of calm and safety. It drains him somewhat to do this, more so than exerting his ability through touch, but he feels it is worth it in this case.

"That must have been a terrible ordeal," he murmurs sympathetically. "No creature should be bought or sold, and certainly not sent to such conditions as you experienced--at such a young age, at that. You have done amazingly well to break free and make it here."

Again, he reaches a hand, this time to pat hers lightly. "At least here you are indeed safe."

(OOC--Any Family members nearby might recognize the feel of this, as he's used it around them many a time before... if tempers had flared or some such.)

A lump rose in Soraya's throat as she listened to Nari's story, and she was frequently forced to wipe at her cheeks to clear tears that trailed there as the young woman relayed just how much she had been through. No wonder she didn't trust anyone.

The redhead found herself having to clear her throat before she could speak as Nari's words ended. "Yes, you /are/ safe here," she agreed with Naitachel, thankful for his soothing yet once more. The poor seraph would likely end up exhausted if he was forced to keep this up, and the redhead made a mental note of avoiding asking him to use his gift for her benefit unless she were desperate.

The other thing that struck Soraya regarding Nari's story was the fact that the girl really had no idea whether her family was really still out there, alive somewhere, or if they were, in fact, dead.

"That anyone would think it is acceptable to do such things is simply inconceivable to me," the redhead sighed, leaning forward in her seat and taking Nari's free hand. "And I am /so/ sorry that it had to happen to you," she said, knowing that the words of empathy were sorely lacking. "Is there anything that I, or that we," she said, indicating the whole of their family, "can do to make you feel even the slightest bit better?" she asked. She knew the constant reassurances that she was safe would do little to prove the truth behind the words, and that Nari would simply have to be shown their genuineness.

Soraya hesitated a moment, debating whether her next words would serve to spook the girl or calm her, before making her suggestion. "I was told that your mattress is often found on the floor and must be replaced onto your bed for you. Would you perhaps like us to have a lock put on your door, so that you do not have to move your bed every night?" she asked.

Nari felt the warmth in the room, and smelled the soothing scent of sage and grasses, and gradually relaxed, releasing her knees and letting her feet fall to the floor, unconsciously leaning slightly toward Nait, as if her unconscious /knew/ that he was safe to seek comfort from. She looked up at Soraya, startled. "I didn't know anyone had told you that. I just feel more comfortable keeping the door blocked while I sleep." She looked down at her hands in her lap, twisting her fingers about. "I'd ask for a lock, but what if someone else has a key? Unless there's somewhere more secure to sleep..." She shrugs some. "I don't mind sleeping on the floor though, the mattress is just as comfortable there."

"No one would have a key other than yourself and another key kept safely locked away for us to use in emergencies," she promised. "I could even hold it myself, if you like," she offered, squeezing Nari's hand gently. Either way, I will have Michael arrange it for you through Eric, she said, silently sending word to her son that he should do as much. "Though if you feel safest with the mattress on the floor, then by all means," Soraya invited. "We can consider the lock simply extra protection."

The redhead searched Nari's face a few moments, as though trying to find some sign there that the girl was alright, that coming clean about all of this had somehow helped her, even beyond the Naitachel-induced haze.

<Do you think she will be alright?> she asked Naitachel with concern.

<I thinks so, yes... but she still has further to heal. I can feel she has some tie to Michael, at least a firming friendship, so perhaps he is best suited for healing her further. It may do them both some good,> the Seraph muses thoughtfully.

Naitachel smiles at Nari. "Well, that sounds like a good idea. But if other ideas come to mind, do tell us, please. From the sounds of things on the surface, we may have others fleeing here, equally traumatized in some manner or other--and such ideas may assist their comfort as well."

"It's not going to cause any problem with me pulling my mattress onto the floor each night, is it?" She then realized something. "Though, if my door is locked, no one would be able to come in and clean. I really can keep it clean myself..." Her voice trailed off some, then she spoke up again. "I don't know if you're the one to ask, but...would it be possible to get one or two more sets of clothing? I only had what I was wearing when I arrived, and then I got two other outfits that night. I sleep in one..." She flushed some, not wanting to appear greedy for clothing, but wanting something other than just the two outfits.

Nari glanced over at Nait. "I'm not really sure...just...maybe let them come to you, or whomever, when they're ready to talk? Michael helped me decide to talk to you instead of continuing to run away all the time. I'm just not used to being with other people." She looked back at Soraya. "Michael mentioned something about me needing a bracelet? What's it for?"

"No, it is no problem, for you to pull your mattress onto the floor, if that is what you prefer. Nor is it a problem for you to keep your own room. Those who clean really do it mostly as a service to others and to keep themselves feeling busy and useful," Soraya responded hastily, trying to keep track of Nari's multitude of thoughts.

"I will have someone drop off extra clothes for you in your room," she then said, once again making use of her mindspeak to request as much from one of the twins. She knew the two would have fun coming up with outfits that were both stylish and practical for Nari. The girl would likely get more than she had bargained for, to be honest.

"As for the bracelets," Soraya continued, "as I explained to Naitachel, they are our way of restricting movement to more secure areas, like weapons storage. They're also needed to move through exits in and out of the compound without setting off the alarms."

The redhead consciously worked to avoid yawning, her morning activity dwindling away her already low energy reserves. This was more important and the last thing she wanted was to give Nari the impression she was less than interested in her well-being.

"I can have Michael collect you later and help you get yours," she suggested with a brief glance in Naitachel's direction to indicate she was taking his thoughts regarding the two to heart.

Soraya was unable to suppress the next yawn and she found herself smiling sheepishly at the two facing her. "I am sorry. It has been a trying few days," she told them, "and I have not gotten enough sleep, it seems."

<I fear I will not be getting 'enough sleep,' to keep up with this fatigue for awhile yet,> she quipped quietly to Naitachel, the only one outside of herself and Vlad who knew her secret.

"Was there anything else you needed that we could provide you?" Soraya asked, ensuring Nari was as comfortable as she could get for the moment before she excused herself for a nap.

As an afterthought, the redhead added, "And thank you, Nari. For speaking with us. And for your thoughts. Please, know that my door is always open should you need a further listening ear."

Nari shook her head, but gave Soraya a watery smile. "Thanks. I should probably get back to the kitchen before Melanie thinks I changed my mind." She flashed a smile to Nait, then slipped out of the room and started walking back down to kitchens. Once there, Melanie introduced her to the other cooks working with her, then got her going on washing what was left of the lunch dishes. "You just get those done, then you can help me prepare dinner."

Nari started scrubbing the pots and pans, losing track of time, but actually glad for the work. Her mind wandered in thought and before she knew it, the dishes were done. Before she could do anything else, Melanie cornered her and started her on cleaning off different vegetables that would go in that night's dinner.

Soraya stood as she watched Nari take her leave, thankful that they had made some headway today in gaining the girl's trust. At least that would be the first step in the girl's rejoining their little society.

"That went better than I had expected," Soraya mused aloud to Naitachel. "Thank you for your help. I am quite sure things would have been much more difficult without it. Not that facing a past like that is easy, either way," she sighed with a shake of her head.

She stood a moment in pensive silence, before being forced to admit out loud that her body's need for sleep was becoming overwhelming. "Even after all that, I fear I am barely keeping my eyes open," she told the seraph plaintively. "Pray excuse me while I go rest awhile," she said. "I will catch up with you later?" she suggested before making her own sleepy way back to hers and Vlad's room.

She was soundly asleep and dead to the world only a few moments later.

"Yes, it went far better than I expected, as well. I feel that Michael may still be the key to her recovery, however... We shall have to see. Time will reveal all." Naitachel smiles and shrugs his wings slightly beneath his robes.

Soraya wrote:

"Even after all that, I fear I am barely keeping my eyes open," she told the seraph plaintively. "Pray excuse me while I go rest awhile," she said. "I will catch up with you later?" she suggested before making her own sleepy way back to hers and Vlad's room.

"Of course." He rises when she does, and steps forward to set a kiss to her forehead gently, a silent blessing for her dreams, before watching her go.

Letting out a soft sigh, and releasing any tension with it, the Seraph turns to find Radu's rooms once more, in hopes that the vampire has finally returned from whatever business he was called away to earlier...