Barbara
Jade had been doing a little better since the full moon, she still hadn't seen Arthur. She wasn't sure he entirely liked her presence at the moment but someone did. That someone Akira Hirano, found Jade soaked in blood, cowering in the snow, yet she didn't think twice about accepting Jade into her arms and her shared home with her father. The Hiranos, made her feel good. They felt like home, hell. The people of Briar Ridge were home to her, Dimitra, Akira, Arthur, and Charlie. All of them fit into the puzzle of her life somehow. They brought her happy feelings. She wished to keep them with her for as long as the moons would allow. Jade invited Akira over for dinner as a thank you and to show her appreciation. 

However one problem arose, Jade could make good southern cooking and desserts but oh my word, these Japanese desserts gave her a run for her money. She tried to read a book on them while she was at the library... Well not Japanese specifically. Briar Ridge didn't have such things like that. There was a cookbook from around the world. Practically falling apart and very hard to decipher and then finding the ingredients was a whole other beast. She tried to make Aki Wagashi. It failed miserably, turning into some sort of paste mixed with plants and sugar. She felt so flustered because Akira would be there any minute. At least she chose something easy for dinner. Duchess Potatoes, cream, potatoes, and two eggs. She could manage that. She did manage that.

She looked outside the window to see if Aki had made her way down the little path. Thankfully no sign of the woman yet. She had time to look less of a mess. She put the bowl of paste hidden away in the sink, quickly took her apron off, and tried to fix her hair, at least look somewhat decent. She quickly tried to straighten up. Throwing a blanket over the older couch, and fixing up the small table. She wanted to make sure her home was warm enough and the food was good enough. She wanted everything to be perfect.
Wanda
Normal, what was normal in Briar Ridge anymore? Was it going out to the speakeasy, only to arrive tumbling by the door hoping her father wouldn't find out? Was it helping to clean out the blood and the destruction left by the beasts? Or was it able to finally be able to go grocery shopping? To heat up the water for a long bath, or a cup of tea?

Or perhaps, normalcy was being able to hang out with a friend?

Akira felt strange when Jade invited her. Not because of the intention, it was only natural that the woman wanted to thank her. 

But, when was it the last time she was invited over to someone else's home? When the subject of the werewolves wasn't the main topic of conversation? 

Akira accepted. Of course she hesitated as she didn't want to leave her father alone, but Mako insisted.

He knew she needed a friend. 

Akira left her home worrying she was running late. She tried to walk as quickly as she could, inevitably, she'd almost trip over ice once or twice. 

But after such al ordeal, she made it to the cottage. 

There, Aki stood at the porch. She wasn't sure what to expect. Would Jade bring other friends over? What did she cook?... Would she be able to help with the food? 

The woman took a deep breath and rubbed both hands together, now cold after the exposure to winter's relentless weather. 

And then she knocked on the wooden door, and waited, shaking a little as she pretended to be a chimney as she let out some hot air.

When the door finally opened, her tiny hand lifted up.

"Hi~ "
Barbara
Jade unfortunately didn't have time to dispose of her failed dessert for Akira, she rushed to the door so as to not leave the woman out in the cold for too long. Winter was a more tolerable beast considered the other ones the town had put up with. Jade beamed seeing Akira on the other side of the door "Aki! You made it" She exclaimed happily before opening the door wide for her "Come on in, lord this cold is no joke" She laughed. Akira and Mako had been her comfort as of late. Akira made her feel like she wasn't all that bad. Even if she did mess up, Akira never held such things against her. She excitedly led Akira to the kitchen where the warmth was from the wood stove "I made something that will warm you and Mr. Hirano right up." She left Akira briefly to flutter around her kitchen, grabbing a bowl and filling it "How was the walk over here? I hope not too terrible?" She questioned. She couldn't help but ramble on. The excitement got the best of her. 

She had a friend over at her house for the first time, back home she couldn't have friends over cause of her mama and her daddy but now that it was just her. She started daydreaming about the sleepovers she could have, This was the experience she had missed out on in childhood. She finally settled down instead of bouncing off the walls. She was on cloud nine "I am so excited that you are here, you have no idea how excited I've been, I tried to find the tea that you like but lord knows that stuff is so hard to get. I will find it one day though, come hell or high water" She crinkled her nose affectionately. She floated over to Aki, taking her hands in her own, she looked down at the smaller woman. 

She felt like the heavens above knew she needed a friend, maybe her grandmother saw she needed a friend that day in the Davis ruins and she sent Akira down that trail. "I made you something, just wait here okay?" She offered before she disappeared out of the kitchen again, what a whiplash Jade had given this poor woman,

She was bouncing off the walls but she came back as quickly as she left. "I noticed I accidentally ruined your scarf, so I tried to make you a new one." She held out the burgundy knitted scarf to Akira "I know it ain't the right color but hopefully it'll do the trick" She didn't know that Akiras mother had given her the blue scarf.
Wanda
"I made it indeed!" Aki smiled from ear to ear when she saw her friend again. Granted, their homes weren't far from each other, it simply took her a couple of days to realize it. 

Just like Jade, the smaller woman was just as excited to being able to visit someone for the first time in God knew when. Though she was quieter, she was giggling as she stretched her fingers by the stove, rubbing her palms together. 

"Ah, pfft. Don't worry about the tea. Pa and I got used to-" And then she her hands on the other woman's. Aki couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle. 

"I-Okay? Haha..." Was everything she was able to let out of her throat. She wasn't used to having someone this close and it showed, poor Akira didn't know where to look.

And off Jade she went, like a magic trick happening right in front of her eyes. At least, that gave Aki a few moments to not think much of the physical contact, and appreciate the kitchen some more. Her curious eyes glanced over what the other woman had been preparing for dinner.

Just as she was about to unveil the disaster that was Jade's recreation of a wagashi, she came back. Thankfully, Aki wasn't able to see it just yet. 

Her eyes immediately went right at the hand made scarf instead, her expression softened as one of her hands reached out to touch the fabric. 

"...You made this...?" The woman asked, even though Jade said she did, a huge smile curling on her lips. There was something melancholic in the way she looked at the scarf, nostalgic, bittersweet. 

"It's so beautiful... A-and soft...!" 

Even though it was a gift for her, Akira looked at Jade as if she was asking if it was _okay_ to accept it. In fact, she wondered if that was okay. 

"That's so sweet of you." She said, not knowing how to return the same favor. Akira had no money to buy gifts, little to no time to make something as she had been so busy helping in the town after the full moon. "I... Feel so silly for not bringing anything for you..!" 

But Aki knew she could give Jade a hug. So she did it. 

"When my mom gave me my scarf, she said it'd be like a hug from her, so I know she'd always be with me.." The woman decided to give away that part of her past, omitting her passing. 

"It'll surely feel the same way when I wear yours, Jade. Thank you. " 

Akira then broke the hug and cleared her throat to not make things awkward between them, yet her smile was impossible to wipe away from her face at that moment.

"Now let me help you set the table! Mkay?"
Barbara
Jade's excitement only grew as Akira hugged her, Jade hugged her back tight. "Well the scarf is a hug and a thanks from me, well maybe also an apology. I got blood and dirt on yours... And I know I can't replace it. I just..." She trailed off. She had been a bit frazzled lately. It seemed like she was messing up every time she turned around. She laughed a bit "My grandmother would be scolding me from her grave if she could by letting you set the table" She followed Aki back to the kitchen as she took the pot from the woodstove "I hope you like it, I tried my best" She truly did put in a great deal of effort. 

"So I made a ton for you and your father to have left overs and keep warm. It's just me here so I don't need to keep too much." She mused before scooping some into a bowl, she watched as the steam left the pot as she removed the lid. "So, Aki, do you have any hobbies?" She felt a little silly asking about hobbies and all. Small talk after what Jade had revealed. She cried in Akiras lap about Arthur and anything else that had been heavy on her heart. She felt bad, how come she could never be as strong for anyone else? No one cried on her shoulder. She was supposed to be strong, she had promised her little brothers after all.
Scott
Blood and dirt weren't a huge deal to clean off, Akira still could wear her mother's scarf, and now she had a gift from a new friend! For her, it was a win-win. 

Jade's excitement was contagious, so much so that Akira had to follow the other woman's instructions to not help her set the table. Alas, it was understandable since she was a guest, she'd do the same thing in her place! 

"Aright aright, let's not get your granma angry then." She giggled, letting the owner of this tiny home do her thing. 

"And here I was wondering why you'd made so much! I'm sure my pa would love it~" 

The fact that Jade even thought of her father for the meal melted Aki's heart. She wanted to help so badly, but for Jade's granma's memory she had to stay still against the kitchen counter. 

Even then, Akira was able to distract herself by looking around the kitchen some more, even to the point of catching something particular and familiar with the corner of her eye. A certain dish she hadn't been able to have ever since she left Japan. 

"Oh?" But before she could take a closer look at the mysterious dish, Jade spoke again.

"Well, I like drinkin' tea and reading a good book." Akira said as she put her undivided attention to the other woman, feeling her mouth water at the sight of their meal. God, it smelled like _heaven_. 

"I also like to go fishing and going on walks by the river." 

Though the latter had been difficult to do, given the many injuries she sustained during the attacks. Poor Aki couldn't take a break during the fall and beginning of winter, and now her body was paying the consequences of working while still being injured. 

"What about you? It seems like you're pretty good at many things!"
Barbara
Jade let out a delighted giggle before shaking her head "That's the last thing I need, granny mad was the scariest thing I've ever seen but of course, I'd make extra! Y'all were so kind to me after the full moon. This is only half of my appreciation. I wish I could do more" She looked at Akira with a soft gaze. She had seen Jade at her lowest and still treated her with such kindness. The full moon, her brutal break up. Akira had been there and unwavering. She listened as the woman talked about hobbies. She thought of her own before glancing over at Akira. "Well, I had to pick up a lot of things, my mama and daddy... They didn't do too much so, someone had to take care of my brothers and the house. My grandma taught me to sew when I wanted this pretty dress for school at a store but obviously, we couldn't afford it. We took some old linens and made magic." She mused, she set Akiras bowl down first along with something to drink.

"And well, you and I have reading in common. I run the library and I've been tryna' fix things up there but it'll take some muscle." She said playfully poking Akira in the arm, now there wasn't anything wrong with women having muscle. Jade thought it was pretty badass. Not having to rely on anybody. She made her bowl and sat next to Akira with her lemonade. Before she leaned in nudging Aki. "I may have to sweet talk you into helping me when you're all healed up." She jokingly swooned and batted her eyelashes "Those shelves are just too much for me to handle" She purred. "No, but, you better not even think about brute work until you're healed, I swear it Akira Hirano." She scolded but not really. This is what she did, worried over her loved ones. She had successfully kept Akira away from the failed dessert, instead Jade had time to make another one. "I have something sweet for us later too. So, don't fill up too much, else you'll have a lot to take home with ya." She winked. 

Jade's kitchen table was small, something for maybe two people and a child but it was just her now. That hit her hard. It was just her, Arthur wouldn't be there eating dinner with her again. She felt her throat close up but she glanced at Akira and tryin to settle. Broken up with didn't mean alone. She wasn't alone. Not so long as Aki wanted her to be around. Which she hoped would be for a long while.
Scott
"Needing help with the library?" Akira whispered to herself as Jade spoke. She was so ready to offer her a hand, she knew she could do it! Aki had been doing plenty o' heavy lifting since she was a young teenager in the farms, still trying to navigate this strange country with a thick accent and no friends. 

But Jade had to point the fact that she was still recovering from her own injuries and her sickness, making the woman puff her cheeks as they turned red. 

"You startin' to sound like my pa."

And like the doctor, and the nurses, and Mitica. Aki could only make people worry about her, and she couldn't help her guilt rearing its ugly head every once in a while. 

She managed pushed those thoughts awayfor now. It wasn't time to cry over her sorrows when she had so much food on the table made for her and her father! 

"You didn't have to put this much effort for me... You even made dessert!" Akira chuckled, tapping the table as she tried to think _where_ to start. American food was something she had to get used to even to this day, Southern dishes were so different ...And they were just as addictive. 

"Ahh, but this smells so good!" She smiled like a lil kid on Christmas. After finally making a decision, she started with the potatoes, picking up a couple with a fork and placing them neatly over her plate, there wasn't anything that could wipe out that little grin of hers. 

Akira then took a big, generous bite, and her eyes lit up. No language in the world could describe the explosion of flavors she was experiencing. She wiggled on her seat, she hid her face while chewing and giggling, she was in paradise and hoped this could make Jade realize how good she was.
Barbara
"Well, someone's gotta keep you in check Aki~" She gently purred. She and Akira hadn't been friends for long but she already knew how Aki was. She worked herself too much and didn't take a break even when her body needed it. Jade playfully rolled her eyes at Akiras comment that she had done far too much. To Jade, it was far too little. A meal, dessert, and a scarf didn't even amount to the appreciation and affection she felt for her and of course her father. Both had taken her in at such a volatile time and showed her nothing but kindness. 

Jade watched as Aki settled into filling up her plate and eating. She was almost nervous that it wasn't as good as usual, she found that her cooking was better when she was happiest. She was content now, Akira made those hateful thoughts vanish for the time being. She laughed a bit watching her, the animation of the woman beside her did bring her joy. "I'm glad you like it. I hope your father likes it too." She sat back in her chair, she hadn't had much of an appetite lately but that was to be expected. She felt her stomach churn at the thought of it. She felt sick for days now but she knew it was just pain. Arthur wasn't coming back, he had left her like she was dead and gone. She was a ghost to him in the moments of packing up the courier and his car. She knew things would get better, they had to. They always got better in the books, the heroin left for dead and feeling lost. That is when she finds true love, someone who treats her nicely. Those were fairytales and this was Briar Ridge, werewolves preyed on the town, and friends were mangled, nothing was ever as it seemed. 

Perhaps Arthur wasn't as he seemed either. She knew he was a bad man, a criminal, he hurt people, he killed people, he ran shine and other drugs... She just never thought that he would turn on her. Didn't he love her? If he did then why would he leave without so much as a goodbye? Why wouldn't he tell her where he was going, why he was leaving? They had pla

Ns for the future dammit! This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to finally be happy. Happy... What made her happy now? The family she had found in Briar Ridge, Akira, Mako, Jackson, baking. She opened her eyes glancing over Akira... She just had to know. "Akira do you think... I'm bad?"
Scott
"Oh, he will love it. He's got a soft spot for homemade stuff!" Akira said, trying her best to keep her manners and not talk with a mouthful. She had to keep herself together, she couldn't just swallow those eggs and potatoes whole like an animal, could she?

But the more Aki kept eating, the more she noticed the silence between her and Jade. Her eyes glanced over the other woman's plate, wondering if she even touched her own food. She then looked up in an attempt to read Jade's expression, chewing slowly just in case her friend spoke and she had to pay attention.

And so Jade did speak, and even then, Akira wasn't expecting a question like that.

"Eh..?" She tilted her head, chewing some more, just to make sure she could speak clearly without her slight foreign accent and food getting in the way. 

"I think you're one of the kindest people I've known. Nay, you're not a bad person..." 

Her gut feeling was telling her that those sudden intrusive thoughts were related to Arthur. After all, poor Jade was abandoned without a word.

 Akira made an attempt to hide the fact that the whole situation left a bitter taste in her mouth, but her eyes betrayed her as she frowned while going back to her food. 

"Arthur... He wasn't a good man." She added. "None of that was your fault."
Barbara
Jade appreciated that Akira seemed excited and appreciative of her cooking, as it made her feel good to provide for others. However, she couldn't shake off the cloud that had been hanging over her lately. Despite this, Akira seemed to understand what was bothering her without her having to say it out loud. Jade knew it was about Arthur, and although it should have been obvious, she wasn't used to being listened to or noticed. She was accustomed to rushed conversations and people running out the door on their way to do something else. But Akira was different. She was sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying the food, and giving Jade reassurance.

Jade expressed her gratitude to Akira, even if she found it hard to believe her. Akira's tender-hearted nature gave her a sense of warmth and safety that she hadn't experienced until now. Although she had felt a warm feeling and sense of community from everyone she had met, Akira's presence felt different. Jade didn't question it and just allowed herself to enjoy it. She silently hoped that this feeling would not be taken away from her. 

"You didn't like Arthur very much, did you?" 

She teased Akira, asking if she ever really cared for Arthur, noticing the expression on her face when she mentioned him, which was not something she saw often.
Scott
With a mouthful, Akira stared back at Jade, slowly chewing on her food as if she was trying to process the question she just heard. 

"Hmmm..." The woman hummed before swallowing, doing her best to find the right words to describe... How she felt about the man. 

"I've heard things about him, many things." She said. " Not just from you, but people in town. Man was just bad news, and when you told me about your fights with him.."

Akira then paused for a moment, her frown returned as she reminisced the way poor Jade cried on her shoulder after Arthur left. Like a fire going from the bottom of her stomach to the top her head, she could feel anger building up. Raw, primal anger. 

"... I didn't know what to do, but I really wanted to tell you to stop seeing him all together." She then admitted with a sigh. " But I'm not that kind of friend, I hate telling other people what to do with their lives... And you really loved him and wanted things to work out."
Barbara
Jade shifted in her seat to face Akira, her arms lying on the back of the chair as Jade laid her head against them, gazing at the woman in front of her as she explained herself. Jade did love Arthur, she was ready to do anything she could to make them work but... She began to see too much of her father in him. She thought the violence would never bleed into their relationship when it had the whole time. Akira took the backseat because Jade was happy. She wouldn't have listened back then even if people did try to tell her. It was best to learn on her own. 

"You're right... Whose to say I would've even listened had you intervened." 

Akira had slowly integrated herself into Jade's world. Jade got attached easily but Akira didn't make getting attached so scary. Jade wasn't scared to look her in the eyes, never fearing of seeing disappointment or anger. Each time she had met Akira's deep and warm pools of dark brown, she did not shy away from Akira in the slightest. Akira had already seen her at her worst and offered compassion, whereas Arthur offered anger. She didn't know if she would ever tell Aki just how much it meant to her to be held together when her world seemingly crumbled to pieces.
Scott
"It's not just a matter of you listening ..." Aki put both hands over the table to rest her chin on, giving her a more comfortable position to think. She made eye contact with Jade for a moment, making her expression soften with a chuckle. 

"Call it selfish, but I didn't wanna be like the kind of friend who controlled your every move , but I also felt this need to... Want to protect you, ya get me?" 

The woman then took a good sip of water, completely oblivious of the way Jade saw her at that moment. But even if Aki wasn't, she wouldn't be able accept those kinds words. The full moon in January marked her, it made her feel guilty and unworthy of anything. While Jade saw in her a person who brought the best of her, someone who picked up from a bad place and, Akira saw in herself someone unhinged, undeserving, sinful. 

Akira was more than open to offer a shoulder to cry on, a hug for support, gentle and encouraging words, but she was a woman of contrasts. She couldn't accept that kind of affection back. 

" Part of me wonders if I should've said or done something, though... I'm sorry, Jade."
Barbara
Jade continued to lay her head on the back of the chair, watching Aki as she spoke of the need to protect her. That made warmth rush through her body and to her cheeks. Akira wanted to protect her? She wanted to protect Akira even if she knew the darkness of Briar Ridge already, she didn't want it to touch Aki. She would be damned if it touched Aki or Mako for that matter. "Don't you go apologizing for something you had nothing to do with." She scolded with a playful grin 

"You don't owe me a dang thing, certainly not an apology." She didn't want to let on how she was really feeling, lost and leaning into the comfort of Akira. Things would be okay so long as they were together, right? 

Was it normal to feel this intensely for a friend? The want to protect, the want to be around them all the time. She certainly didn't feel the same things she did with Arthur... This was different and she couldn't pinpoint why. 

She didn't want the full moon nights to tear them apart. These wolves... They were people, people she had known, hell even talked to. There had to be something that could be done to put an end to the madness. 

Yet, if it weren't for the wolves... Akira wouldn't be sitting in her kitchen right now. 

"I'm glad you were walking the trail that day."
Scott
Asking Akira to stop apologizing for everything felt as if she was being asked to stop breathing. The best way to not do was simply to stay silent, and that's what Aki did.

She paid close attention to Jade's words, the way her lips moved, how her voiced flowed, her left hand even traced one end of her new handmade scarf.

While her friend was met with these new unknown emotions, Akira was hit with the realization of her own. The more she felt the textures on her gift, the more she lingered in Jade's eyes. Here they were, eating dinner together, as if it was meant to be.

This was dangerous. 

Akira was quick to return to her food, trying to shove whatever emotions she felt in the back of her mind, forgotten and denied. 

_'I'm glad you were walking the trail that day._' Jade said, and Akira's heart skipped a beat again, almost making her drop her bite.

This was not the time to feel the butterflies in her stomach, especially as the other woman still grieved losing the *Man* She loved. In Aki's eyes, there was no way she'd feel that way for another woman.

Akira was no man, she'd never be as good as one. She'd *Ruin* Jade's life.

By the end of the day, Aki would need the company of a good old jar of shine. She could forget, it always worked, she always moved on. 

"Thank you." Akira managed to smile, having enough courage to look at her back in the eye. "I'm glad we met, too."

_'But, please stop being so kind to me._' , she thought to herself, cursing her heart for being the way it was. 

_'It's going to hurt us both._' 


``` You wanting me tonight feels impossible
But it's comin' down, no sound, it's all around
Like snow on the beach```