Jasper was not looking forward to talking about his past, he spent most of his time trying to forget it. He knew Abigail would want to know though.<br/><br/>When Kate spoke to her, Abigail turned to face her.She glanced to Jasper as the mage spoke, taking in his nervousness and wanting to protect him from whatever it was that was tormenting him.<br/><br/>As the two were left alone, Abigail finally moved towards her brother. He was frozen in place and she wasn't sure if he saw her or not. Stepping in front of him, Abigail carefully placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling him flinch away before meeting her eye.<br/><br/>"Looks like it's just you and me." She smiled, earning a small smile from him. Helping him with his winter clothes, Abigail pulled him to the couch. She felt his hesitancy as she tugged him down and noted how stiff he looked sitting next to her.<br/><br/>"Relax Jaspy, what happened to you?"<br/><br/>Jasper kept his eyes down, feeling Abigail next to him. He heard her say several times to relax and could sense her frustration.<br/><br/>Sighing, Abigail tried to think of how to get her not so little brother to open up. An idea came to mind and slowly she reached towards him until she could trail her fingers down his side. As she expected he did pull away at first but not before she saw what she had wanted. With a grin, the winged woman leaned a little closer and repeated her previous move. This earned her a look that wasn't quite as lost looking as before. Progress.<br/><br/>"I seem to recall a little kitten being quite ticklish here, here, and here." With each word she moved her fingers from his side, to the back of his neck, and finally down to his ribs, getting the reaction she wanted. Jasper had smiled and had tried to push her hands away, but not before she heard a small laugh. Having managed to crack him this far, Abigail continued into a full blown tickle attack until Jasper was writhing and begging her to stop. She let this go on a few more minutes before letting up and allowing Jasper to catch his breath. Helping him sit up, she pulled him so he was laying with his head in her lap.<br/><br/>"Some things never change, I guess." Abigail laughed, brushing a strand of hair from his face. She could feel that he was still a little tense, but felt this would ease. Letting her fingers thread through his hair, Abigail watched as Jasper closed his eyes and let out a small sigh, a soft purr following not long after. She had missed this. It wasn't often that he purred, but when he did it was always relaxing.<br/><br/>Abigail let this go on for a little while, willing Jasper to relax. There was still a level of tension he wouldn't drop, and his ears continued to twitch at each little sound.<br/><br/>"So Jasper, what happened after I left?" Abigail asked in a soft voice. She felt his breath hitch and the tension increase. Looking down into his green cat eyes, Abigail almost regretted asking the question, but she knew it needed to be asked.<br/><br/>Slowly, Jasper filled her in on what had happened, at least what he remembered. Much of the earlier part was fuzzy or completely gone, but as he got to the later years things were much more clear.<br/><br/>When he had finished and fallen into silence, Abigail could feel tears on her face. What kind of sick, twisted people could do such horrible things to such a sweet little boy? She made a personal promise that should she ever have the chance, she would not be holding back against Malora or Draco.<br/><br/>It was some time later and the two found themselves not having moved much. Abigail still stroked Jasper's hair as he lay with his eyes closed in her lap. Not asleep, but resting. Letting her own eyes slip closed, Abigail knew that should anything happen, Jasper would protect them both, even if she wanted to be the one protecting him.