Secrets Within

Chapter Four ~Reunited~

(The picture is Martin and Lily)


Perking my rounded ears, I stopped walking and put the clothes down at my paws. I scented the air, but only smelled smoke and trash. I wasn't really in the best part of town...

I was guessing my time as a tiger was nearing an end, and I picked up my things and sprinted down the street, my ears alert.

Nearly ten minutes later I was dragging my paws and still out of luck on my search.
I groaned, but kept forcing myself forward.

It was just then I heard someone yelling and pounding footsteps from the alley in front of my me. That woke me up from my sleepy daze. I hid behind some trashcans and saw three kids -a kid and two younger teens actually- run past with a loaf of bread, chips, and a litter of rootbeer.

Something in my mind told me to follow them, and I did, but trying my best to stay hidden.
The person yelling had been a shopkeeper, but it didn't seem like he was chasing the three any more.

~~

A few minutes later the kids slowed down and were talking quietly. Probably just about food.
I trotted off the the side behind them, being careful about not being spotted.
I was pretty sure these were the kids I was looking for, and didn't want them to run away or anything if they saw me.

Suddenly the kids ducked down the alley and one by one slipped into a open window that went into the basement of some abounded building. 

'This must be where they are staying now,' I thought. When they were all inside I went behind a dumpster farther inside the alley and waited to transform again. Luckily I hadn't dropped any of my clothes on the way here. 

~~

Nearly 10 minutes later, my body began cracking, readjusting, and growing. Within a minute I was a human again. Shivering as the night air chilled my bare skin, I pulled on my clothes with haste.

I pulled her hair out of the back of my shirt and dusted my clothes off before going to the window the kids had disapeared down. The window was still ajar, and I slipped through it quickly, only to fall on my butt on a dusty rug. I wrinkled my nose and slowly stood up and took a step in the dank, dark area. My bare foot hit a can as I moved, which created a loud rattling noise as it rolled across the concrete.

Within a few seconds I saw figures coming from the darkness with small weapons. Different kinds of knives and even a small hammer.
"It's me. Rosaleen.. I-I came to j-join you..." I stuttered quickly, trying to stop my teeth from chattering.

Someone probably around the age of 15 walked up to me and hugged me tightly. I tried not to wrinkle my  nose at the boy's smell, but hugged him back, happy to see my old friend was still here and safe.

"RoseBud! It's been so long!" He said to me, stepping away to look at my face and smile.
"Hi Martin," I said to him, smiling back.
A girl that looked and smelled similar to Martin walked up, smiling ear-to-ear. "Rosaleen!" The girl  squealed then pushed Martin away and hugged me so tightly I gasped, the air leaving my lungs.

"Lily! You're strangling the poor kid," Martin scolded.
"Oh shh, She's fine," Lily respinded, rolling her eyes and realeasing me.


I smiled at their bickering. They were siblings, and twins. They both had dirty blonde hair. Martin's was shaggy and nearly covered his eyes. Lily's was longer, and draped around her shoulders. It was obvious they hadn't showered in a while.
Martin was a few mere inches taller than Lily, but both were lean and ahd bright blue eyes.

"So where have you been, Rosebud?" Martin asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts. He  had started calling me Rosebud  a long time ago, and I had grown used to the nickname.
"Another orphanage. I left earlier." I said, giving a shy smile.
They had learned asking why I left didn't give them answers in the past, so they didn't bother asking now.

The other kids that had been standing around had mostly left, only one or two still watching the trio talking. 

After a few more minutes of talking Lily slung an arm around my shoulders and spoke while leading me into a dark hallway, "Let's find you somewhere to sleep. Are you hungry? We just got some food a while ago. Hopefully there is some left," She said, slightly rambling.

"I don't need much..." I said, not wanting to take their food. I hadn't had barely anything for supper, and what I had eaten wasn't very filling. My stomach had startling rumbling a while ago.

Martin and the two other kids tagged along behind Lily and I, but they were silent.
The hallway had lots of rooms branching off of it, and it made me wonder what building this had been before the homeless kids aquaried it.

Lily stopping in a dimmly lit room snapped me out of my thoughts and I slowly let my gaze wander around. There were at least ten other kids sitting around the room, the stolen food items-mostly gone now- laying in the middle of the floor on a few concrete bricks pulled together to create some form of table, I could only guess though.

"We don't have much.. But its fresh," Martin said with a sheepish grin as he came up behind me.
"Don't worry," I spoke, standing akwardly in the room as all the kids stared at me. Most of the kids looked around my age, one or two older, and another one or two younger probably.

Lily walked ahead of us and got me two peices of bread. It looked like everything else they had stolen had been gobbled up.  I didn't really mind. They deserved it more than I did; they had been here longer.

She handed me the bread and I took it with a grateful smile. "Thank you." I said.
"Don't mention it," She spoke before walking away to speak to a few kids in the far corner of the room. Martin tagged behind her, seeming to just be listening to the conversation his sister was having with a few kids.

I went and sat down and ate the bread, being quiet and not meeting any stares kids gave me.
Because of ignoring everyone around me, I didn't really notice when Lily and Martin left, and three kids my age or slightly older walked up to me. A boy, looking the oldest of the three cleared his throat and I looked up.
"Um.. Hi," I said, giving them a tiny smile. I wanted to seem friendly.
"What's your name?" The boy asked, exaniming me and ignoring my greeting.
"Er, Rosaleen. You can call me Rosa though," I said.