A Girl and her Teddy Bear (Akhtar/Open)

[Annie Cingolani]

He was running out of time, and he knew it. It had only been a few minutes since the demonic bear known as Mr. Tibbers had taken on his true form but already he could feel the pressure that always came after he stayed as his true self for too long. The bear growled as he charged down the empty streets. This was not good, not good at all. This had to be the worst time to have this happen. He needed to save his master. Little Annabelle was only a child, even though she was of the same brood that had enslaved him she was still nothing more than a young, feeble cub that couldn't protect herself. Especially now of all times. Tibbers had some responsibility in her weakened state. If he hadn't wanted to kill that damn hellhound the moment he had felt his presence Annie might not have broken the seal at the cost of losing her energy. He should have known better, this wasn't like the other times when the bear could tell his master was in the presence of a dangerous being. In those instances Annie was at least well enough to take care of the threat by her own without having to rely on him to do it. This time though was different, Annie had exhausted herself for days searching for her twin brother that by the time she had summoned him she could barely use her own powers.

The situation had turned from bad to worse after his awakening. Tibbers couldn't kill the hellhound like he had been told to thanks to the magical human. The man both he and his master had lowered their guard with, had used his powers to create an invisible shield to protect the foul beast and prevent the bear from doing his job. Then his master collasped. The bear had no other choice than to abandon his task in favor of protecting his master. Annie wouldn't like that, providing she could remember his failure once she woke up, but he would live with it. He cared too much for the little girl to let anything bad happen to her at the hands of another. Too bad the same couldn't be said about the human. Just thinking about the human brought his blood to a boil. While the human was so worried over his stupid mutt he did nothing about reigning his pet in when he had threatened Tibber's master. The human couldn't be trusted so he left. At least the human had the grace to not chase after him at the moment. But things could change. The human and his pet could come for them later. He needed to find a place to hide to ensure neither of them could find the girl. But where?

The more time that passed the stronger the pressure got, and the more the bear panicked. He was losing time, he was fighting the transformation as best as he could but the pain was becoming too much. It was only a matter of time before he lost his ability to stay in this form, and when he did his master was doomed. Gaining speed the demonic bear ran through hedges, fences, even buildings in his rush till he found somewhere. It was a house, like most the lights were off, but from the glimpse of the sign on the yard at the front, from what he could see, said 'for sale'. For sale meant empty and that was good enough. Tibber's ran right through the door, leaving nothing but charred splinters on the ground as he took a look around. Where in this place could he hide her the best? The bear moved around the building, shaking from the pain washing over him. In desperation he knocked down doors till he found a basement. It wasn't much but it would have to do. Tibbers went down the stairs to the cold and dark basement, found the darkest corner of the room and gently placed the girl down before taking his place beside her and finally returning to his life as a teddy bear. He had done all he could do for her now. The only thing he could do was sit there and wait for the day his master would wake up. He could only hope that no one dared to come to this place and find them.

[Deleted]

Akhtar sat on one of the large plush couches. He couldn't believe what had taken place in his home. He was at a lost for words and he didn't even know how to process it. Gil arrived. That was enough for him to be honest. Whenever Gil showed up he was sure trouble was to follow. There are moments when Akhtar really felt he should have let Gil die. Then he remembers that Gil is like a child to him. Although they weren't far in years when it comes to age Akhtar still felt responsible for him. Now he had let the beast back in his home and chaos arrived shortly after.

His jet black hair fell lazily across his shoulder falling almost to his waist. It was a time for a trim now that he thought about it. That wasn't important at the moment though. What was important was finding Annie and getting her back to his home where she could get some rest and be safe. It didn't matter that he lived in the posh area the outside world just was not safe for a small child. Her brother was already missing and Akhtar didn't want any other children missing on his watch.

Reaching out with his mind he called out to Khan. He told the male to prepare his car and they would go and look for Annie. Khan came to the front door where Khan was waiting for Akhtar in his car. The wizard quickly made his way to the car so they could go and look for Annie. The young prince had no idea where to start looking. He just had to rely on his magic to guide him. He hoped there would be some magical imprint he could follow that would lead him to the frightened child.

He found her signature imprint it was entwined with that of the bear which he was shocked to find that the bear had its own magical imprint. He quickly led Khan to their location find the empty home that was for sale. Akhtar knew they were inside because of the charred remains of the door. He motioned for Khan to remain in the car so that he could go and get the child. He didn't want to put Khan and himself in harms way if the bear decided to attack. He was sure he could handle the bear on his own. He moved up the front walkway to enter the home. The bright blue flames lit the night sky as he activated his phoenix form preparing himself for battle.

[Annie Cingolani]

Mr. Tibbers had done all that he could to protect his master. While the demonic bear fought desperately against the curse that still bound him he had managed to find a place to hide his master while she slowly recovered. It wasn't much but it was something. The building he chose had been empty so he didn't need to waste any time killing any humans first before he could put the girl down. And of all the rooms he chose to place her the basement was the best choice. It might have been cold and dark, no doubt the kind of place that would scare his loveable owner when she woke up, but the darkness acted as a cloak to shield her from the naked eye. If there was any place around the area that Annie would be safe in, it would be this place. But for how long? That was a question that had already formed into the bear's mind while he was running. No matter where he went it wouldn't have been far enough from those he was trying to save his master from. Unless the human and his demon mutt decided to leave them be it was possible for them to find them. They weren't the only problem either. This world was full of monsters both figuratively and literally that preyed on children like this one. He had already seen what those kinds of monsters could do to his master and he didn't want to see that again.

But there was nothing he could do. That was the most frustrating thing about his condition he had to deal with. Now that Tibbers was in his plush form he was absolutely powerless to do anything. Tibber's powers were locked away while he was like this, so he couldn't transform without his master's help, or use his fire powers. Even his ability to move was limited. Tibbers spent most of the time staying still, playing the role of a cute fluffy teddy bear while he and his master were around company, but when they were alone he could move around as he pleased. Even that much was too much for him right now. Like his master his fight against the curse had weakened him, getting up and walking around was a little too much for the teddy bear to do at the moment. Damn this curse, damn the beings who sealed him in this form in the first place. It had been nearly a hundred years since the demon bear had been turned into nothing more than a child's toy, forced to be used as the final defense for the solari children in Annie's line. He had hated his fate in the past but over time as he was passed down from one child to the next he started to feel a bond between him and the children he cared for. By the time he had reached Annie he was a loyal and faithful companion. There wasn't anything that he wouldn't do for the little girl.

It almost made him grateful at times that he was cursed like this. But now he felt angry. He hated this curse, he hated the people that brought him and his master into this position, and he hated himself for being so powerless to do anything. Mr. Tibbers sat next to his master, watching the stairs incase anyone dared to enter as he waited for his master to wake up. How long that would be was another mystery. Annie had worn herself out too much even before she broke his seal that she could be out of commission for awhile. At best she would remain in this state for a day. Any longer than that and her life was at risk. There was nothing that Tibbers could really do for her in the lines of food. Maybe if he rested for awhile he could gain the strength to walk far enough to steal something for the girl to eat. They could hide out here till she was well enough to move on her own and find her brother. It wasn't the best plan but it would have to do until he could think of something better.

While the bear was thinking his plans over he felt a familiar presence enter the house. The anger in the bear rose at as the familiar sensation washed over him. It was the human. He had found them already. This was not good, not good at all. He didn't even give them enough time to recover before coming after them. If only there was something he could do to stop this, but he couldn't. All the bear could do was stay still and wait for the human. With any luck he had hid the child well enough that the human wouldn't see them in the dark. There was no way of knowing if that would happen. He'd just have to wait and see.

[Deleted]

Akhtar walked into the home. He looked around and saw no signs of the young girl and her bear. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The blue flames that surrounded him for protection seemed to grow like tendrils. Two of the blue flames started to stretch and wiggle about. It was as if they had minds of their own. They were searching for any magical print in the home. They easily passed through the multiple levels and encased the outside of the home. They reentered the home and dove simultaneously beneath the floorboards heading to the basement where they turned gold in color giving Akhtar his answer.

He smiled happily knowing that he had found the girl. Walking towards the door that led to the basement. He slowly descended on the creaky staircase and made it to the bottom landing. The blue flames provided him with light so it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the basement. It was not getting much in regards to natural moonlight which made it quite a bit easier to see upstairs. As he looked around for the young girl he called out softly in his thick accented voice, "Annie...are you down here? Annie if you can hear me make a sound." Not getting anything he continued to slowly moved around the what he assumed to be empty space.

The basement was fairly large and from what he could see it was empty until he turned and saw a large mass huddled in the middle of the floor. He assumed this had to be Annie. He didn't want to risk touching her and the bear attacking him. It would be to quick for him before he could react and produce some protective barrier. He used the same tendrils that searched the house and they wrapped themselves around Annie and Mr. Tibbers. He spoke gently saying,"Annie...it is me Akhtar. What are you all doing here? You all must know it is not safe for you all to go running off into the night like this...Annie please wake up if you can hear me."

The young wizard prince was a bit nervous for his unofficial charge. He would only blame himself if something serious has happened to the young girl.

[Annie Cingolani]

Silence fell onto the house after Tibbers took back on his plushie form. After a moment everything in the world seemed to have gone still. Besides his charge's breathing there was no other sounds in the house. Even that wasn't much. Annie's breaths were so slow and shallow that even he began to worry about the girl. He knew his master would wake up eventually, but seeing her in the state that she was in now still made him worry. There was little he could do about her condition. At least he was by her side, when she woke up he would be in a better position to take care of her. How the girl would do in the next couple of days was something he'd have to worry about later, for now the biggest issue was keeping her from being discovered. That problem was the more pressing matter. Even now after all the ground he managed to cover in the short time he had the power to move Mr. Tibbers didn't feel like it was enough. It was only a matter of time before Annie was discovered again. But the question was how long?

If he had done his job right he'd have to worry about the human or the hellhound coming after his master in the next few days. If not...it could be only a matter of hours before he ran into trouble. He could only wait and see what would happen. And wait he did. Like the loyal creature he was he sat here next to his master, his back to her while he stared at the entrance, listening to the child breath as he stared out into the darkness. Soon enough Tibbers found out the answer to his question. It had only been a few hours at best till Mr. Tibbers felt the human's familiar presence enter the building. He would have growled if he had a voice at that moment, but alas he couldn't. The worst of his fears had shown its face, but would he be able to find them here? It would take an idiot to not notice the damage around the place he had broken into and not follow it to its source. Even then he hoped that the man wouldn't notice.

He could feel the human's presence above them but judging by the silence he didn't move. What was the human doing? Was he second guessing his decision to come here? If so that was fine with him. Tibbers wanted the man gone. But he didn't go away. After what seemed like an eternity the footsteps continued. Closer and closer it came towards the stairs. So he was coming after all it seemed. They would be discovered now he knew it, yet he still remained still. Even when the human finally spotted them he remained right where he was. Blue flaming trendils surrounded both him and his master's body as the man came towards them and talked to the child. Though he spoke Annie made no response, she remained asleep. As for Tibbers, he stayed where he was, the only response he gave was the sensation of rage. Would the man feel it? Not likely, most humans and even supernaturals rarely sensed his feelings, beyond his master, those that were exposed to him long enough, or those that were more...sensitive no one else could read the bear's emotions. With Annie being unconscious his protest would go unknown by anyone. Not like it could do him any good anyway. He could be as angry with the human as he wanted to be, but without his true form he could do nothing to act upon it.

[Deleted]

Akhtar stood close yet far enough to give the pair space. He didn't get a response from Annie. He was becoming worried. Even at his distance he knew that her breathing was a bit too shallow. Although the basement was a finished one this wasn't the place for a child. It was cold and it would cause her illness. Supernatural or not she still needed to be in a proper area getting rest. He was sure the child would be suffering from dehydration and exhaustion soon. Even supernaturals like himself had their limits. If you're constantly using your powers and not taking in the necessary things you still could become sick and die. Akhtar shook his head. He called Khan and let him know of his plan.

Not even worrying about the consequences from the bear Akhtar stretched his hands out in front of himself and the flames jumped from his body and wrapped themselves around the sleeping girl and her bear. they enveloped them as if they were a sleeping baby being wrapped in a blanket. Akhtar's magic started it's work. The flames turned bright golden in color with hints of red in them. The pair started to levitate from their sleeping position of the ground and rose steadily through the air. Thanks to Akhtar's magic they passed through the many levels of the home and exited through the room. Akhtar spread his arms once more and his entire body erupted in flames and the shape of the phoenix surrounded him as he exited the home in the same path.

The song of the phoenix could be heard as he flew through the night sky guiding the precious cargo of Annie and Mr. Tibbers back to his home. They arrived to his home in no time at all. He entered into one of the larger guest rooms that was already prepared and waiting on Annie and Mr. Tibbers. He lowered the sleeping girl on her bed and placed the bear snugly against her. He remembered that she had some form of control over fire so he stretched his hands out and seemingly pulled the blanket of flames from around her and flung it towards the empty fireplace and it burst into a large crackling fire. He hoped that the flames would help her regain some of her lost energy. He wasn't entirely sure on how that would work but he was sure that it would help the young child.

He quickly left from the room and shut off the light so that she could continue to rest and get her energy. He had one of the magi stand guard at her door in case anything was to happen. He was sure the young girl would wake up startled. He made his way downstairs to hold council with Khan and find out what his most trusted employee felt what was the next best move for them to do.

[Annie Cingolani]

When Annie finally woke up she felt confused. The child didn't remember when she had fallen asleep or how long she had slept, all she knew was how exhausted she felt and the fact that she was somewhere she did not know. With a groan little Annie sat up, holding her head at the sudden dizziness that came over her from the sudden movement. “What happened?” the girl wondered out loud. For the life of her she couldn't recall what she had been doing before her sleep. Had someone hit her across the head again, or had the voices that plagued her sometimes took over like they always did? Annie felt around her head to see which one of these possibilities were true. It didn't feel like anyone had hit her in her head. As disoriented as she was there was no big lump at the back of head to prove any damage. She didn't feel nauseous either, only tired and dizzy. So she didn't get hit, that much was clear. Maybe it was the voices? That wouldn't be much of a surprise for the little solaris. The child had noticed for quite some time now that when the voices in her head began to act out sometimes the world went dark and when she could finally see again she was somewhere she wasn't before, sometimes she was alone, sometimes her brother and Tibbers were with her, and other times she was surrounded by strangers that frightened her and she had to make them go away.

It had to be them. But a part of her doubted that. If it was the voices then why couldn't she remember anything? Most of the time she at least had some recollection of what had happened just before she lost control of herself. This time the memories weren't coming back as quickly as they normally did. What had happened to her? Before the girl could think that question over she felt a familiar presence next to her. Annie looked down at the being who's excitement caught her attention and smiled. “Tibbers! There you are!” Annie gave her teddy bear a great big hug. It was good to know that this time she wasn't alone. Her brother might not be with her but she at least had Tibbers. Wait...wasn't she trying to look for her brother before she woke up here? That was right, she was. Annie could remember searching for Anthony all day and then getting really tired, she had decided to find a place to stay for the night. She had come across some house in her search for a comfy bed to sleep in for a night. Perhaps she had found what she was looking for. Annie looked around the room to get a good look at her surroundings and try to remember how she got here. Annie couldn't remember ever getting to this room by herself, it would have been something easy enough to remember if she did. The room was one of the fanciest ones she had ever seen in her life. It kind of reminded her of her former masters bedroom.

Thinking about her masters damped the girl's mood. The ones that hurt her and her brother had slept in a place like this, while they made her and her twin sleep in cages. It wasn't fair that they got to live in comfort while they suffered. They had to be punished, this place needed to be punished. Perhaps she should burn this whole place down as punishment? That would be fun. She could just imagine it now, the whole room surrounded by flames. She could dance and sing with Tibbers as the whole building slowly turned into nothing but ashes. As if someone out there had been listening to her thoughts did Annie notice the fire before her. The little girl's eyes seemed to glaze over as they watched the bright flames of the fireplace burning. Annie seemed almost transfixed by its beauty. She didn't even know when she had gotten out of bed. It was as if the crackle of the flames were calling out to her, singing her a beautiful song that she couldn't close her ears too. It wasn't easy trying to get closer to the fireplace. The moment the girl tried to stand on her feet she had fallen down. She was still weaker than she thought she was. She had to grab onto the bed just to pull herself back up on her feet, and used what furniture that was nearby as a crutch to get closer to the fire. In the end she managed to make it. Annie sat down in front of the fireplace, hugging her best friend as she stared intently at the fire.

[Deleted]

Akhtar sat in the lavish sitting room with Khan discussing with Khan in hushed tones what he should do with Annie. It was clear that the girl was troubled and possibly IN trouble. He wasn't quite sure and he would have to make sure he got someone to look into Annie's past. He also had to assure her that he and Khan would help her find her brother. She has to know that they are their for her and that she must really let experts in finding people help her find her brother. Akhtar wouldn't even be much help for her. They would have to involve common everyday mortals who have developed a type of science in finding people.

As the pair discussed how they would handle this situation one of the magi who was supposed to guard Annie's room quickly entered the room and bowed quickly before turning to Akhtar and said, "Samukum, Samukum she is up...We heard her moving around the room and speaking to someone." Akhtar nodded his head and stood. Khan stood with him and he motioned for him to remain seated. Akhtar made his way up the long staircase and towards the wing of the mansion in which Annie was housed for the night.

Coming to the door where the two guards stood the two guards bowed to him and he entered into the room. The heat him like a hard slap. He couldn't believe the child was able to to so comfortably sleep through this. The room she was in was rather large. It actually could be two rooms. He stood in the doorway which brought him into the sitting room and then he would actually enter the bedroom. He walked through the stifling heat and waved his hand. A large feather fan appeared and fanned him. The wind from the fan as if it was coming from the arctic itself and that was fine by him because the room was so hot.

Slowly standing and observing the child for a moment he said lowly as not to startle her, "Annie I see you're up now...How are you feeling?"

[Annie Cingolani]

The fire was so beautiful. Annie sat there in front of the fireplace in a daze just watching it. She loved just watching the flames dance and flicker around in its confinement. Not only was it pretty but the heat was comforting as well. The fire was warm enough to effect the entire room, making it extremely hot and uncomfortable to anyone who might walk in. But not with her. No, the little solaris enjoyed the heat. The warmth felt pleasant against her skin. Not only was it nice it was helping her with her dizziness too. She would never be able to explain why that was, if she was older or at least learned somewhere about her race she would have known that being around fire or heat in general helped to increase her strength. She didn't know all of that, but that knowledge didn't matter. Annie never needed to know how her powers worked, she was content enough having the ability to play with them.

Speaking of playing with fire, an interesting thought came into the girl's mind while she watched the flames dance in front of her. What if she reached out to play with them? It was a tempting idea, the flames were only mere inches from her face she didn't need to put much effort in stretching her hand just to touch them a little bit right? Slowly Annie reached out to feel the flames. The moment her skin touched the flames her entire body began to heat up. The sensation made the child giggle. She was starting to feel a lot better now. For a moment Annie moved her hand through the fire, grasping at the flickers of the flames before the died out. She didn't know when she had dropped Tibbers to put both her hands in the fire, but soon enough she was fiddling with the fire in both hands, making little fireballs in her hands to play with, and even making the flames rise higher in the process. By the time Akhtar showed up Annie was so fixated on what she was doing that she didn't hear what he was saying.

This was fun, but it wasn't enough. Even though she was feeling a lot better than she had been before it still wasn't enough. Without saying a word Annie crawled into the fireplace. The child giggled even more as she felt the fire embrace her. In just moments she could feel her strength returning to her. The fire seemed to rise even more when she entered it but soon it started dying down. Just as quickly as it had rose the fire vanished inside of her. All the pretty fire vanished, leaving nothing more than a soot covered child sitting in its place. It was a shame that the fire was gone but now her head didn't hurt anymore. The giggling child crawled out of the fireplace and spotted the man staring at her. Now that her head was clear she recognized who he was. “Akhtar!” Annie ran up to the man and gave him a great big hug, unfortunately for the prince she didn't notice that she was dirty and covering the poor man in ash too. It was nice being able to remember him now that he head was better. Prince Akhtar was a nice person so she didn't have to worry about him, unlike a certain someone...

Now that her memory was returning to her she remembered the other man that was with them. Gil. Annie looked around the room looking for the bad man from earlier but she didn't see him. What happened? Did Tibbers make the bad man go away like she asked him to? Did he leave on his own? Or was he hiding somewhere waiting to eat her and her friends later? “Where did the bad man go?” she asked the prince. “Did he go bye bye? If he's still around I can play with him now.” There was an eerie smile on the girl's face as she spoke of Guillotine. The vicious little hellhound had been confident before that he could devour her before, and perhaps he could have then. Annie had been very weak when he had shown his face. But now things were different, her powers had returned. She could easily take the bad man on without Tibbers help.

[Deleted]

Under normal circumstances Akhtar would be terribly upset with his clothes getting dirty. It wasn't a royal thing it was in his opinion perfectly natural. However considering what the child had gone through earlier that night he felt a bit responsible. He allowed and in all honesty he was happy to see that she was fine and full of energy again. He was glad he followed his instincts and created the fire. It seems as if the young child absorbed it and made it apart of her life force. He looked down to her and returned the hug. He didn't want they young girl to feel as if she was a burden on him.

Waving his hand the fan disappeared and he looked at Annie. He said, "I am so glad too see you're in better spirits Annie. " He walked towards one of the large plush ottomans and he heard Annie ask about Gil. He wasn't entirely sure if Gil was gone or not but he assumed Jesse took him and made him leave with him earlier before Akhtar left to go search for the young child. Even if he was here he wouldn't tell Annie that. His home and his shops have gone through enough supernatural battles.

He smiled to her and said, "No..he left after you and um...Mr. Tibbers took off from here. He felt really bad about what he did to you all." So perhaps Akhtar was stretching the truth but he really didn't want a child battling it out with a hellhound. Although she was a solaris and he was sure she could protect herself against him but he just didn't want to take any risks. He would try and smooth things over with Gil later as far as Annie was concerned but he wanted to get things back on track and help her find her brother.

[Annie Cingolani]

It would be an understatement to say that Annie was happy to see the magic prince. The little girl was overjoyed to see the man there. Why wouldn't she be? This nice man was her new friend after all. He was enough to let her come into his house and didn't start a fight with her coming in like other meaner people would have done. Not only that but he gave her cookies and promised to help her find her brother. As far as little Annie could remember no one had ever been this kind to her before besides her twin and Mr. Tibbers. For the longest time she had thought her masters had been right about the world being a cruel place. The solaris children discovered that most people didn't give kids like them the time of day. No one cared about two strange looking orphan kids. No one really offered them a place to sleep in or food, unless they planned to hand them over to scary people that wanted to separate them. Annie was beginning to think that all adults were bad people deep down inside, but Prince Akhtar was proving her wrong. Maybe some adults were good after all?

The prince seemed to be really happy that she was up and about now. He didn't hesitate at all to return the hug she gave him. When he commented on her energetic behaviour the child smiled. “Yup, I'm all better now! The fire helped me!” It had been fun playing in the fireplace. Annie might not have known what she was doing at the time but she at least understood one thing, if she was ever low on energy again she could just absorb more fire to give her some energy back. Fire after all was her element. It was fun to play with and very helpful in the times she needed it. It wasn't much of a surprise learning this new trick, and hopefully it would be useful in the future. Oh she just couldn't wait to tell her twin the good news the next time she saw him. Sadly it might be awhile till she saw her brother again, but at least she wasn't alone. She still had Tibbers and her new friend.

There was also someone else in the picture. The bad man. That's right, Annie hadn't forgotten about the bad man named Gil for long. With her renewed energy and memories coming back to her the child remembered the incident with the evil man. Just the thought of punishing the bad man for good brought a twisted smile on the young girl's face. She couldn't wait to play with him for real this time. No one could threaten to eat her and chew on Mr. Tibbers without paying the price for it. This Gil guy was going to get it if he didn't get his just desserts already. With the bad man in her thoughts the little girl asked her new friend what happened to Gil. To her disappointment Mr. Tibbers didn't get the chance to finish him off like she asked him to, and on top of that Gil already left. “Is that true Mr. Tibbers?” Annie walked over to the fireplace where her teddy bear laid, nearly forgotten in all the excitement from earlier. Annie picked the bear up and listened to him speak (if you could call it that) to her. Judging from what the bear said what Akhtar had said happened after she passed out was true. Tibbers didn't punish the bad man but their little fight was far from over. There was plenty of times to make the bad man disappear later. Annie could wait to finish their battle later. While the girl was thinking about how much fun she could have punishing Gil Akhtar said something odd. “He felt bad?” she asked the prince, looking rather confused by his words. “Do bad people feel sorry for doing naughty things?” That went against everything she knew about bad guys. Bad men did bad things because they liked doing them, so why would they feel bad? Gil didn't look like he felt bad at all for threatening to eat her, he had looked pretty happy about that prospect. “Maybe he lied to you.” the girl stated. “Bad men like to lie to good people so they can hurt them later. You shouldn't let him trick you or he will eat you too.”

[Deleted]

Akhtar looked at the young girl from the ottoman that he sat on. It was obvious that she wasn't going to let this go with Gil. He knew the hellhound had a way with people but it wasn't necessarily a good thing. He was torn between the two. He had to protect Gil but he also felt obligated to Annie now. She was only a child and while Gil acted like a child he was technically an adult. He sighed and listened to Annie. She was asking him a rather complicated question. He didn't know how to answer the question one hundred percent honestly. Well he definitely wouldn't lie to her it was just complicated to explain the way of the world.

Looking at the young girl he said, "Well that is not so simple to answer. I can say this though...Gil when he says he is sorry he really is. You know he does things and he only means well when he does them. He is a bit protective and bull headed at times. I can say once you get to know them he is not so much of a bad man. He just has to be reminded of his nature and that he is not the beast he once was."

Akhtar almost felt a pang of guilt for even referring to Gil as a beast but it was simply true. The truth was Akhtar never saw Gil as a beast. He saw him as someone who simply needed to be guided to the right path. Gil was definitely different than any of the other hellhounds he had encountered. He smiled at Annie's innocence and said,"Annie do not worry I do not have to worry about Gil hurting me or eating me. I am very much so able to kill him if I want." Leaning a bit closer to Annie and smiled to her and said, "Between you and I...I could kill Gil if I wanted to." He looked her square in the eyes and his eyes turned gold for a moment before flames filled his irises for a few moments before returning their normal gray color.

[Annie Cingolani]

Annie was confused. It wasn't the hardest thing in the world to make the little solaris child confused really. All it really took was for someone to react in a way she didn't expect (i.e. not laugh when she set something on fire for them), or challenge the way she thought about the world. The latter happened to be what her new friend Akhtar was doing. The man seemed to be doing that quite a lot since Annie had met him. Prince Akhtar seemed to live in a completely different world than the one she did, one where Gil wasn't a bad man. Or was he still considered a bad guy even in his world? That was what confused Annie when the man tried to explain the situation with his vicious friend. Akhtar was trying to explain that Gil sometimes acted like a bad man, but at the same time was a good guy. How was that possible? The world in Annie's eyes was black and white. Bad people were bad, and good people were good. As of late it seemed that besides her brother and Mr. Tibbers the world was full of nothing but bad people. Even when the twins found someone that they wanted to play with or get to know one way or another those people would show signs of turning on them so they punished them like the good children they were.

No one in this world could hide their true nature for long. Bad people always tried to pretend to be good, but it was only a matter of time till they showed their true selves. What of Gil though? It was pretty obvious to her that Gil was a bad guy, and he had even showed the prince that. Yet Akhtar didn't see him as being completely bad. Was Gil just tricking him? Or was Annie's understanding wrong? The girl shook her head. No, she couldn't be wrong about this. If she was wrong about bad people she would have died by letting her guard down a long time ago. “That's what he wants you to think. All bad people pretend that they are good so they can get you. That bad man is doing what they all do, and if you fall for his tricks then he will gobble you up too.” Annie tried to warn her new friend. She couldn't just let poor Akhtar run around thinking that big bad Gil had a good side that didn't exist. What would happen to the man if he let his guard down? The little girl didn't want to see her new friend die. She liked him, he was nice, he loved fire, wanted to help her find her brother, and gave her cookies. “Don't worry Tibbers and I will protect you!”

If push came to shove Annie could protect the prince. She wanted to play with the big bad Gil anyway so she had no problems protecting her new friend from him if she had to. Soon it seemed like she wouldn't have to worry about the prince though. He tried his best to reassure her that he wouldn't let the bad man eat him like he had tried to do with her. He wasn't just simply saying that it wouldn't happen out of trust for the bad man, but because he said he could kill him. The girl smiled as she saw his eye colour change. That was right, Akhtar was pretty powerful on his own. Mr. Tibbers could see it and even she could. It was silly of her to doubt that he couldn't protect himself. “Okay I believe you.” the girl chuckled. “Maybe we can play with him together if he tries to hurt you. It'll be fun!”

[Deleted]

Akhtar smiled down to the young girl and said, "Okay Annie...I think we should worry about Gil at another time okay? Just promise me you will not go looking for him. That is a situation I do not want you in....no matter how strong you may believe you are he is still powerful. I think that we will revisit that later. Trust me when I say Gil is not a bad man. He used to be considered a very bad man but now he has changed. Like I have said he was just trying to protect me. He doesn't know you and he doesn't know your intentions so I think you should understand that. Like I said though we will come back to Gil later on."

Akhtar was honestly nervous about what Annie wanted to really do to Gil. She was likely to try her best to try and kill the man. Akhtar was sure her stuffed bear, Mr. Tibbers felt the same way. Akhtar was certain that if Annie were left to her own devices the entire city would be burned down in search of the "bad man" as she referred to Gil. It wasn't that he didn't understand her it was just that she was so young and the last thing he felt she should have to do was worry about some evil beast trying to harm her and her trying to get revenge on said beast.

The room fell quiet for a moment and in that time Akhtar had to think of what he was going to say to her. He knew what needed to be done but he didn't know how she would take it. He knew that if she took his suggestion she could possibly run into Gil again. Well...perhaps not PIDA has been keeping the hellhound busy so maybe that was a good thing. He looked at her and said, "Annie I think you should stay here with me until we can find your brother. It is safe here and you will not have to worry about food and sleep here. Outside on the streets is not very safe for a child your age. It is best you stay here until we can find him."

[Annie Cingolani]

Akhtar was right to be so concerned about Annie and Gil ever meeting face to face again. The little solaris had made up her mind pretty quickly about the hellhound. In the child's eyes Guillotine was a bad man. Mr. Tibbers had been quick to pick up on that at the start. It was rare for the teddy bear to have such a bad reaction in the presence of another person. Most of the time while Annie and her brother met someone new he kept silent and let the twins judge the newcomer for themselves. The times he didn't meant ill for the children. If Tibbers didn't like someone it was with good reason, and as such the children dealt with them as hostiles. It wasn't like Annie needed Mr. Tibbers to tell her he was a bad man. When he said he wanted to eat her and Tibbers he had shown his true self to her. For his actions he had to pay the price eventually. If the two ever met again there would be a fight, and this time it wouldn't be so one sided. Annie wasn't as weak and frail now, with her strength returned to her Annie could unleash her full power on the beast. If she found her brother and he joined the fray Guillotine was as good as dead.

Whether the prince knew it or not things between those two would end badly. At least he was smart enough to try and stop a battle between them before they could even meet. The prince told her to worry about Gil later, he even went as far as to ask her not to go searching for him. The little girl frowned as he spoke to her. She really did not like the idea of leaving such a bad dangerous man go free for so long, especially one that happened to have such close ties to her new friend. Annie didn't doubt Akhtar when he said he was perfectly capable of killing Guillotine if he wanted to but that didn't stop her from worrying. In order to kill Gil the two would have to fight, and fighting could sometimes be dangerous. Annie knew her body's limits, she could take a lot of abuse without dying from it unlike other children. But she didn't know Akhtar's limits. Adults were surprisingly fragile, those that claimed to have power didn't seem nearly as powerful as they said they were. If she could beat them then just how strong were they? Akhtar was powerful but the bad man could still do a lot of damage before he died and she didn't want to see that happen. She wanted to help punish him, but the prince was having none of it.

“Okay, I promise not to go looking for him.” she answered finally. Annie would be true to her word. She didn't believe for a second that Guillotine was a good man, but if the prince felt that bad about the two finding each other then she would at least follow through on that. Though that wouldn't stop her from playing with him if she did find him. While Annie made a promise not to go out of her way to find Guillotine that didn't mean that they wouldn't meet again someday. If that ever happened then she was free to play with the bad man to her hearts content. Till then she'd just have to wait. Besides, there were other more important things to do with her time than waste it playing with bad men. What Annie really wanted was to find her brother. Now that Annie was feeling a lot better it was time for her to move on. As much as she wanted to stay and play with her new friend she couldn't just abandon her brother. Anthony was the only other person in this world that she held dear to her heart. They were a family. A tiny, feeble family, but family none the less. Anthony's disappearance hurt her in a way that no one could ever imagine. She had to find him, but she didn't know how.

This city was too big and vast to get her bearings around at all, she could only imagine how bad it was for her twin. It wasn't like Anthony had run away from her. When he left he had every intention of coming back to her, but he got lost. Was he doing the same she had done? Did Anthony spend many sleepless nights wandering the streets trying to find her? She couldn't bear to just stay here while her brother was out on the streets suffering alone. She needed to leave, but it seemed Akhtar had other plans. "You...want me to stay?” Annie shook her head. “I would love to stay with you but I need to find my brother. He might not trust you if he only sees you. I need to be there so we can see each other.” The prince meant well but Annie knew it had to be her who found Anthony. There were plenty of bad people in the world and because of those people the children learned to be less trusting of those that claimed to be looking for them. What would her brother think if some strangers he didn't know came up to him telling him that they were looking for him? She couldn't blame her brother if he attacked her new friend but that wouldn't stop her from feeling bad about it. “You don't have to worry about me. I'm a big girl and can take care of myself. Let me look for him.”