Grace was bouncing with excitement, like a young child about to be able to do something their parents wouldn't normally allow. Patrick chuckled at the girls antics. The pair entered the small town and Patrick interlocked hands with Grace,

"Keep close, I don't need them finding you."He explained before the pair walked into the library after passing the bakery, blacksmith and church. An old man smiled at the pair.

"It's nice to see some young souls who enjoy reading.What are you looking for?"He spoke as his old, wise green eyes softened. Patrick smiled at the old man,

"I'm looking for Mice and Armies along with Armies and Warriors, please."The boy told the man who gave him a nod and quickly left then came back with the books he asked for. The elder turned to Grace, and smiled.

"Anything for you?"He asked

"Challenge Of The Night, sir."She requested. Once the pair had their books they bought some herbs for herbal brews and potions. They quickly left the town, Patrick looking over his shoulder every five minutes, terrified they'd find them.

Things went a little haywire after that, Patrick swear he heard his mother's voice, yet now it had a warm tone to it, not the cold murderous one he remembered.

"Penelope, dear could you please calm down?I don't need your brother waking up."Her voice rang in his ears, freezing him in place. Grace noticed and knew this was one of the only things to get him so anxious. She gently pulled at his sleeve. Remembering to speak softly when he got like this,

"C'mon, she won't find us."She said trying to convince the elder boy. The boy gulped, terrified as his brain tried to focus.

"O-okay..I'm coming..."He stuttered, neither of them hearing that in a long time.

The pair quickly started walking again, Grace and Patrick both glancing over their shoulders, nerves now heightened. Grace wasn't watching were she was going, so when she fell onto Patrick she was a little taken aback. She quickly stood, scanning over the person she bumped into, quickly holding out her hand.

"Sorry about that, you alright?"She asked as Patrick knew this was Gino, Grace's younger 6 year old brother. The boy took his unknown sister's hand, and smiled.

"Thanks for the help, but I gotta go I'm in a rush!"The boy said as quickly as he left. Grace turned to her elder friend, and giggled.

"Well that was unexpected."She spoke as the pair started to move on again.

"That was Gino, Grace."Patrick whispered, eyes scanning the area for any eavesdroppers.

"Wait, really?"Grace asked her friend, who nodded in response. Patrick started to read as he walked through the forest, weaving through the tall blades of grass and tall, thick trees trying to get wrapped into the story so his mind didn't wander back to the recent events. Grace chuckled at her companions habits, he always seemed to have a book in his hands, trying to forget his own past more than anything. Emily cawed overhead, happily swooping in and softly landing in Grace's chestnut hair. Grace looked up at her cursed lover and shook her head, trying to not smile.

"Do you have to do this?I know I never leave to far from the cabin but still Emily, do you have to land in my hair like it's your nest?"She asked mocked anger in her voice. The raven cawed back in mock anger, or what sounded like it. Patrick laughed, after slipping his bookmark in, already a good chunk into his new book.

"You two sound like a married couple, even tough technicality you two were dating and are in a sense before Emily was cursed."The red head commented and Emily pecked his head.

"Ow!Emily, did you have to be so harsh?"He snarled, now rubbing the spot Emily pecked with her sleek, dark sharp beak. Grace giggled at her cursed lover's antics while Patrick shot her a glare angrily.

The three made their way finally into their cabin and Emily quickly rested on her perch as Grace placed her book into her bookshelf and placing the herbs into the right jars before finally relaxing on the couch, as the fire crackled and as Patrick plopped himself into his chair, never breaking his concentration.

As the day passed, Patrick's mind kept going back to how loving his mother sounded to her true children, not her eldest freak that she birthed. Grace knew he was thinking about his mother while she was thinking of her brother, she never thought she'd actually she him in her lifetime, to be honest she didn't think he was going to be so kind. The two didn't noticed the little girl, her mother and younger brother in their front lawn in you could call it that, until there was a knock at the door. The teens jumped as Emily cawed in warning, alerting Grace of the family, the wooden door being the only thing blocking Patrick's worst fears.

"Penelope, you don't go knocking on someone's door!"The mother scolded, a little voice spoke up, guilt lacing her voice.

"Sorry Mamma.I just thought I heard someone inside..."The younger sister to Patrick whispered. Patrick's breathing started to become rapid as the fear set in if his younger sister opened that door, it'd be all over for all three of them, not just him.

"It's alright dear, let's just go we don't need to bother anyone."His mother scolded, as Patrick peeked out the window, his little sister grab her mother's hand and left as the thick tension cleared. Emily cawed, happy to be able to freely move about the cabin, flying over to the mantle and resting as the fire warmed her feathers. Grace let out a sigh of relief as Patrick's fear subsided. Grace checked over her stock of her test potions she was slowly giving to Emily to see if anything changed, and sadly nothing has yet. Patrick moved over to Grace's small table and shelving, grabbing a small vial of Blue Bell, a poison that can kill someone in less than an hour, yet with Chameleon's Ash and Saber's Shavings, a shaving of a saber-tooth's tooth that could balance out the Blue Bell.

"What's your plan?I've already mixed them, and it didn't work."Grace explained, and Patrick smiled at her. Patrick grabbed Whispering Willows, a flower that could help werewolves when they first shift. And a handful of Merci's Marigolds, a yellow syrup crafted from marigolds and honey that could help with a magic casted fever.

"Did you add in Whispering Willows and Merci's Marigolds?"He asked as he placed all five ingredients and placed them into a Mortars & Pestle, grounding up the ingredients into a thin paste, before he added some Psyllium husk, to thicken the paste before transferring it into Emily's dinner that Grace had prepped as he crafted this experimental paste.

"No, I didn't Pat, how did I forget about these?"Grace said, scolding herself. Patrick rubbed Grace's back, comforting her.

"Hey, it's okay with everything going on...we're both under some stress."Patrick reasoned. Grace smiled up at him as she gave Emily, her dinner before sitting down on the couch, writing down the mixture, and looking up at Emily, to see if it worked and it seemed it didn't.

"Oh come on!We added Whispering Willows!"She shouted, frustrated.

"Yeah, but that's for werewolves...so maybe we need to search for the type for ravens and ask around..or it's not a quick change, who knows?"Patrick suggested. Grace nodded her head, knowing that could be true, yet she still was angry with herself that she couldn't do anything for Emily she didn't get her cursed in the first place.