“So,” Jessica said, “you know Sori is your sister?”

“How?” Krystal questioned, “I mean, no one in the family ever mentions her.”

“Mom and Dad talk about her all the time,” Lito explained, “well, so long as the rest of the family isn’t around. When they’re around, mom and dad go along with the how ‘Sori doesn’t exist’ thing.”

“I don’t understand,” Ravi spoke up, “they gave Sori up, they sent her away when her powers developed. Why would they tell you anything about her when they don’t care about her?”

“Shut it,” Lay hissed, covering Ravi’s mouth and glancing over at Sori.

The female shifter hadn’t said anything since Jihu sent her, Jessica, Krystal and Lito back to the girl’s dorm to talk. Lay and Ravi had followed as well, deciding that Sori might need whatever emotional support they could offer.  Hyoyeon had gone to tell the rest of their friends about Lito, so Lay expected everyone to come bursting in soon.  Maybe that would get a reaction out of Sori since she didn’t seem to be reacting to anything else.

“That was the family and the council’s doing,” Lito growled, glaring darkly at the ground, “the family wanted Sori gone because they couldn’t handle how much power she had and it scare them. The council…….they just didn’t care. They’re heartless monsters.”

“Can’t argue there,” Lay said, “so…..your parents wanted to keep Sori?”

“Yeah,” Lito nodded, “they were really happy about how powerful she was, even if they were having problem dealing with it. Grandmother and Grandfather got into their heads, though. Kept whispering about how Sori would be better cared for by someone else. Someone who understood how powerful she was. Eventually, they believed it and gave her up.”

“They thought she would end up in the hands of some really powerful shifter, right?” Jessica frowned slightly, “they thought that the council would care.”

“But they didn’t,” Lito scowled, “they council voted on giving Sori to the ISBIP and mom and dad couldn’t do anything. They signed Sori over before the vote, so they had no control over what happened after.”

“They couldn’t how known what the council would do,” Sori finally spoke up, “they took a chance, hoping it would work out for the better.”

“But it didn’t,” Lito said, “you ended up being raised by the ISBIP.”

“And now the headmistress is my legal guardian,” Sori replied, “and I have my friends and a home.”

“Sori?” Jessica question.

“Things worked out in the end,” Sori shrugged, “I finally have people who care and they have another child. A normal child that they weren’t manipulated into giving up.”

“Sori,” Ravi frowned, “don’t sound so…..removed. You were wronged. You’ve spend years thinking that your parents didn’t love you because of other people’s problems. You should be--.”

“Be what?” Sori hissed, glaring at Ravi, “getting angry and screaming? Crying? That’s not going to do me any good.”

“Better than just shutting it all down,” Ravi scoffed, returning her glare, “better then not acknowledging that it hurts and angers you.”

“How I deal isn’t your problem,” Sori growled, getting up and storming off.

“It kind of is,” Ravi said, getting up and chasing after her.

“Should I have stopped him?” Lay finally asked once the pair was gone.

“I have no idea,” Jessica replied, “I….I don’t know what’s going on with those two.”

“Something happened,” Krystal nodded, “while they were at the ISBIP base. Something big.”

“They like each other,” Lito spoke up, “a lot.”

“Seriously?” Jessica looked between her younger cousin and the way she’d seen Sori and Ravi go, “well, I knew Ravi liked her. But I didn’t think Sori liked him back.”

“What about N?” Lay added, “he likes Sori, too. How does he fit into…..whatever is going on with those two?”

“I have no idea,” Jessica sighed, “not like Sori has ever come to me about relationships and crushes before.”

“Does she go to anyone about that kind of thing?” Krystal said, “she’s…..kind of flying blind here, isn’t she?”

“I like Ravi,” Lito spoke up, “he seems to really like big sis. Even if he did just piss her off, he did it because he cares about her.”

The three older shifters nodded in agreement.

--

“Sori!” Ravi yelled, running after her.

“Just leave me alone,” she shouted, willing herself to keep moving, to keep running away.

Like she could out run her emotions and problems.

“No way,” Ravi cried, trying even harder to catch up, “I’m not going to leave you to deal with all of this alone.”

“Maybe I want to deal with it alone?” Sori paused, turning around to face Ravi, “ever think of that?”

“I don’t think you do,” Ravi said, stopping just short of smashing into Sori, “I don’t think you want to deal with this alone at all.”

“Well I do,” Sori growled, “I don’t need you here.”

“You need someone,” Ravi said, pulling Sori into his arms, holding tighter when she tried to pull away, “you need a shoulder to cry on right now.”

“I’m not gonna cry,” Sori said, trying to ignore the tears that had been flowing down her cheeks probably since she started running away, “I don’t need a shoulder to cry on.”

“You’re a really bad liar,” Ravi sighed, tightening his hold on Sori even more, “you’ve been crying since we left the dorm. To be honest, I was a little scared you’d run into a tree because you couldn’t see through the tears.”

After several more attempts to deny her tears and push Ravi away, Sori gave in and cried. Ravi just held her, whispering in her ear that it was ok, that everything would be ok. He wasn’t sure if it would be, didn’t know if his words were actually helping Sori or not, but he had to say something. He knew Sori needed to cry, needed to get it out after the recent revelation that her parents did still love her, but it pained him to see and hear her crying.

“I’ve spent so long hating them,” Sori admitted when her tears finally calmed down, “and…….this whole time they loved me.”

“I know,” Ravi nodded.

“Why didn’t they say something?” Sori questioned, “why didn’t they…..they send me a letter or something. Why didn’t they explain it to me?”

“Maybe they thought that your hate was deserved,” Ravi suggested, “maybe they thought that they were horrible for letting you go, for letting the rest of your family get inside their heads.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Sori admitted, pulling away so that she could sit down. Ravi followed her, sitting down beside her and pulling the female shifter into his arms again.

“Right now?” Ravi said, “Don’t do anything. Just…..sit here and relax. Forget everything else going on.”

“Easier said than done,” Sori sighed, shifting around to rest her head on Ravi’s shoulder, “everything going on……I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Well,” Ravi said, “why don’t you try to figure out the least pressing problem? Get that done and out of the way and……maybe everything else will seem easier or something.”

“Easier said than done,” Sori replied.

“Then talk to me about it,” Ravi said, “maybe I can help.”

“You really care about me, don’t you?” Sori said, turning to look at Ravi.

“Yeah,” Ravi said, “I….I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you, so of course I care about you.”

Sori nodded, an unreadable look on her face. Suddenly she leaned forewords and pressed her lips against Ravi’s for a moment before pulling back. For a moment, Ravi started to pull Sori back for another kiss before he paused, looking into Sori’s eyes to ensure that it was alright if he did kiss her. Sori nodded and Ravi continued.

A/N: I’m gonna leave things there ‘cuz I’m not actually sure where to go from here (for the chapter people, not the story over all. don't panic). I was thinking of putting Sori agreeing to be Ravi’s girlfriend, but…..didn’t seem like it would fit all too well.