Liz's Questionnaire

I live in the woods! Yellow stone is the name I think.

I travel sometimes to other forests, and other places. There are so many cool animals around there!

Sometimes people come in, and they are looking around at all the animals, and they mess everything up!

In some forests, they kill all animals, and destroy the trees !! I don't like that! I don't like that at all!

It's not like that at Yellow stone. I think that's why Dad mostly lived here.

I liveeee in a tent around there! Sometimes I tie myself to a tree. And sometimes I dig a hole like my Dad showed me to keep warm. I setup rain catchers, and set traps for squirrels, and bunnies. It's good and safe, and secure! At least as long as no one tries to chase me!

uhhhh. Sometime people come into my forest, or others and get lost. Then I can take some of their money while they sleep. Or, people will drop coins, and I can pick them up.


Sometimes I can sneak into some of the buildings near my forest and steal money. Then I can have really good food, and get good equipment for things. That's mostly what I get with my money. some nice food, and sometimes really good equipment for camping and other things. I have a sleeping bag that is super super warm. I bought that with money I took from this old man and lady that fell down in the forest.

People looked for me after that. I didn't like that.

People are always destroying nature! They leave fires, they drop trash, and they make live really bad for animals!

I want them to stop it! Bad people! Stop it! Then everyone, both the people and the animals can live together and by happy, and not have the trash or the fires anymore!

I guess that's what I want? I Dunno. I'm still pretty little, so maybe I'll learn new things, and change my mind about the best way. But I don't like it when there is trash in my forest, and I don't like when people start fires.

There are other things I would do. I guess I could kill? Lots of animals kill all the time. I don't want to die, but all the animals in my forest don't want to die either.

My mom left me and my Dad when I was little. That's what made Dad decide that he wanted to live in the forest. Because of that I learned how to live in nature, and I love living in nature! I would just be a boring regular person if I didn't do that.

I know about reading and stuff, but all the other kids need to spend soooooo loonnnggggg going to school and stuff, instead of being outside playing! It's silly. I would have been so bored and trapped and stuff. I also know about how to make fire, and find food, and scavenge, and live without leaving trash everywhere.


Dad was really sad mom left me and Dad, and I'm sad about it too sometimes, but I would be so much more boring if she didn't! 

Dad- He was smart and strong, and really good at keeping me safe from all the people out there that are out to get you. There are so many things that I didn't know were dangerous that he taught me were dangerous. He is tall, and had dark hair. I get my hair from my mom instead, which I'm sad about. I wanted to have hair like my Daddys! He had silky black hair that he would let me play with some times.

Then there is Miss Caroline. She was one of Dad's special friends. I visit her sometimes, and she tries to get me to stay and go to school and stuff. I don't like when she does that, and when she does it too much I leave early. I think she get's it now, and won't be pushing. She is nice, and soft and smells really nice.

Then I have my bird friend! His name is birdy. He is black, and a raven and very pretty! I don't know if he likes me but I really like him. I can spend days following him around when he hasn't migate .. migret .. Migrated for the winter. I wish we could talk, and he could be my friend. 

ummmm. It was a good childhood, I guess? I mean. I'm still a child a little bit. Like. My mom left, and then my dad took me into the woods for mostly as long as I could remember. The woods were nice. We always had enough food, he was teaching me a lot of things, and at night we would look up at the stars, and he would read me books.

But then Dad died. All of the sudden. I tried to help, but I couldn't do anything.

I didn't know how to do anything about that. I still don't really. But. I have some more friends, so maybe I'll ask them. It seems important to know.

I don't know where my mom is, and I don't really want to know.

I never went to school. It doesn't seem like an interesting place, and dad didn't really like it. I don't really socialize with many people. My Dad had a few friends that I know, and I talk when them sometimes when I need to practice. I get along with animals though. I know how not to be scary, and how to hide, and when they are going to be friendly.

What kind of love?

Like. The kind of love that people have for their parents. I really liked my dad, and my Dad loved my mom.

I don't really get it. Maybe because I don't see enough people. Dad told me that one day, my body would start... changing. That I would start wanting to do things, and think about boys a lot. 

I don't see boys that frequently. Sometimes when I sneak into town. 

My body is smaller than it should be. I haven't been able to eat enough after my Dad died, and although I've gotten better at scavenging, it still isn't always successful.

Now that I'm magic, maybe I'll be able to do more things, and get more food.

My Dad left me some comics. And some photos of us that he took sometimes. Also a few books, but not that many. Mostly kid books, but he had a few adult books that I've read. I keep them buried in a hidden place. Only I know where they are, and I need to dig them up when I want one of them.

But people are bad at finding things in the forest, so I think it's safe.

They were the last gifts my dad gave me, and they were what he used to teach me to read. Then I learned to read better by reading his books. Lord of the rings, and the hobbit. Some books on wilderness survival.

These things kept me alive. The books taught me what my dad had forgotten, the photo's reminded me of my dad, and the comics distracted me when I was sad. It kept me alive. 

Those books were my friends when I didn't have any friends, and are the only things I have to remember my Dad.


Other than his body. But after I buried that I haven't dug it back up.

I ....

Before my last contract, my biggest problem was worrying about someone destroying my forest. Or coming to take me away and make me go to school or something. Then I could become an animal, so that stopped being a worry.


Now Monkey science is the biggest problem in my live. Emperor Grungo, and an island full of gorillas told me about it, and told me about Zoos...  It all sounds awful. I need to learn about it. And then I need to stop it. 

And any other things that human do that is bad to animals. 

I have been safe in my forest for so long. But. I have powers now. And I'm magic. I have a responsibility to the natural world to protecting. And protect it from people doing bad things to animals.

I don't like how Emperor Grungo got attacked. I want the world to be a better one for him, and animals like him. I want the world to be a better place for all animals.

Well.... It depends if I was sleeping as a hawk, or as a person, or as something else.

If I was a hawk, then I wake up, then go flying! I could look around for other animals. Sometimes I'd catch fish, or worms. Or I'd find some roots and berries. 

If I'm a mouse or a bunny, then I get from my burrow, and explore. Cleaning myself up, washing up in a river or stream. 

I travel enough around that I have a lot of different places I can camp.

If I am a person, Then I have to spend a bunch of time cleaning up and packing up my camp. Then after that I go hiking or finding an animal to befriend. 

If I don't have enough food, and I couldn't find food in the forest, I'd go and try and steal from some of the towns or shops nearby. Get clothes and things.

Sometimes I might sneak into somewhere, like a gym or a bathroom so I can wash my hair, and face. I don't do that too frequently, since it's risky, and the river is easier.

Like. Where special? When me and Dad used to go back to visit other people we would have to wash up. Dad made me wear a dress sometimes for that, but I don't really like dresses. They get tangled in plants and things. 

When we visited people, we had to make sure my face and arms were clean, and had to wash and brush my hair so that it fell straight down my back. That took foreverrrrr. I hated it.

Now I don't need to go to visit anywhere I don't want to me. Sometimes I wash my hair, but I let it be bushy and curly. If it get's in the way I can use the hair things .... Hair braids to make my hair be nice and not move around.

But. Most of the places I want to go are to be in nature, or to be with friends. Animals don't really care about how you look as long as you have a good smell, and behave right. Being able to talk to them makes it easy also.

I don't really do much for my birthdays. At most I'll do something small, like have some extra treats, or do an extra fun activity. When my Dad was alive, he would get me a sweet treat.  But then I was alone, and didn't have money or know where to go.

On my 10th birthday I tried to steal some cakes or treats from a local bakery. They are so sweet! But I almost got caught, so I didn't go back on later years

Now.... I guess I could get more sweets. Stealing is much easier now. But probably I'll spend some time with Tilly and Jennifer instead.

Hi Journal!

I think I made a mistake in the last contract. I got caught on camera. Don't like that. SOL bothered me though. He betrayed us, didn't talk and negotiate, and then nearly died and expect us to save his life. 

Dumb. But I shouldn't have hesitated.  Not my biggest regret. But the most recent.

I think. My biggest regret is that I didn't learn more earlier. There is so much I know now that I could have learned earlier, and used !

Like the library! So many things on the internet, and maps and things! I could have started learning so much earlier! Maybe learned how to make things faster.

Maybe I could have learned how to save Dad. Then maybe he wouldn't have died. 

I learned that I'm too short recently.

The way I speak is different from how other's my age speak.

I.... I didn't have a good childhood after Dad died. I learned a lot, but I think maybe I'm broken. And that being alone made that worse. Now I need to fix myself.

I spent a long time away from people. I scavenged, and stole, and learned to move around the forest. Learned to hide in it.

There is a connection there, and a deep one. Animals are my friend, and nature feel like safety to me.

I am a druid. I get power from the world. I can speak to animals, speak to the wind and draw on its power. Nature at the same time draws on and merges with me.

Over time different parts of nature become available to me to influence and control. In return I work to protect and advance it.

This started with my ability to become animals. Then my ability to talk to them. Then an ability to move with the wind. Then drawing on the resilience of trees. 

I don't know what I'll get next. But eventually the entirety of nature will be under my control. I will lead it, and protect it. Preserve it and retake it.

ummm.

What do you mean? 

Like. Sprits? I know some spirits. I feel them. In the forest. When I'm foraging, or exploring, or talking or flying with roger. 

tilts her head

Oh! You mean like the thing with Jesus Christ our savior? Dad thought that was really important. I used to think it was important, but I don't really understand why. I used to pray for food after my dad died. For like a year. It didn't work. Listening to the forest helped though! 

My Moms haven't talked to me about it at all. Maybe I'll ask them? They know lots of stuff about the world that I don't. 

hmmmm.

A thoughtful expression. 

Is .... Is like. Spirituality and religion like one of those rules? The ones that society has but doesn't tell anyone about? Or is it like something people feel? 

Anyways. I guess. I feel.... Confused? Yeah. I don't really know what you mean journal.

Oh! Umm. Well. I learned about monkey science when I met Grungo. That was big and important. I thought like... If there was going to be something destroying nature that it would be like. Coming in and destroying.

Like the people that walk the trails and leave trash. Or the asphalt and deforestation and things. I didn't realize that people could also just... take bits of nature and then.... 

Lizzie starts to tear up. 

And and and ... the farms and the things and .... There is so much cruelty! I didn't know it would be like this! It's so bad! The world needs a druid so much more than I thought. 

Lizzie wipes her eyes. Mittens hops up onto her lap, and she starts petting him.

I.... I don't know what I'm going to do. I can do so many things now! I have the power of nature behind me, but.... I can't change the things that matter. Not yet.

Oh!

Like my aunt Pathia? She is great! We um.... We haven't actually done jobs together before. And she got really realllllyyyyyy worried that time I came back, and my hands were burned. She has um... She feels like I do. When I do my nature feeling thing. I can tell she is reading me like I am reading her!

She also has these really really cool things on her arms. They are like roots, but also they have like muscles and can move around and grab stuff. It's super cool. They are also warm, and nice to hold. 

Ummmm.

I think she is my favorite. I hope I can go on a job with her at some point. That would be fun. We could do all sort of pew pew magic druid powers!

Ummm. I don't know if there are really that many others.

I met that one man who called me Little Liz. He was nice. He was so excited when I got my name! He called me Miss Martin! Um... I'm not Miss Martin anymore, but I was really excited about it when I was.

"Lizzie! Time for bed!" 

Lizzie is a cat! Mittens is also a cat! A cat with little white spots on her paws.

"Do you wanna race to bed?" Lizzie asks mittens. 

"No. You cheat." Mittens responds with a bit of snark. 

Lizzie sticks her tongue out at Mittens, and with a burst of wind, runs up the stairs, taking 4 at a time, the wind boosting behind her up. She get to the bedroom, and with a little wiggle jumps up.

"Lizzie. You remember what we do before bed."

Lizzie groans. 

With a little hop, she gets down and walks slowly to the bathroom. 

Jennifer has Lizzie's toothbrush setup, and Tilly is already brushing her teeth. 

"Human time. Are your PJ's on?"

Lizzie shook her head, then shifted slowly back to human. 

"Okay. Well take a quick shower, and I'll bring you your PJs. Then time to brush teeth and bed."

"Okay Mom." Lizzie huffs a little, but she goes to shower. She knows her parents love her.

----------

Lizzie is showered, and her teeth are brushed. She wears PJs with cats on them. Now, it was bed time.

Lizzie becomes a cat. 

She jumps back up on her parents bed, and walks to the little nook between the two of them. 

When she stays with them, this is one of her favorite ways to stay. The got a bed for her at one point, but the bed was too strange. The softness felt wrong. But here, surrounded by her parents, safe with them... she felt safe. This felt normal. This felt right. Perfect. She curled up and fell asleep, her family all around her.

"Best at? um... I don't know. I'm pretty good at keeping myself alive in the forest." 

Lizzie frowns. These Gen Wyld people have so many questions. She pets Steven. Steven is a good snake.

"I mean. I guess for you guys, the relevant thing is that I'm really good at animals." and nature Lizzie thinks. But I don't need to tell them that.

"I can talk to them. They listen to me, and if I'm honest with them, they believe me. They are not super smart sometimes though. So, sometimes I need to reach out to their soul and make them be my friend."

Dr. Brown looks at Lizzie, skeptically.

"You touch their soul?"

Lizzie squirms a little.

"Maybe? I um.... I extend my influence, and then they are my friend. I can also make friends the normal way, but that's not as fast. So. This is just like. A short cut.

And then I can also turn into them. The last one I resonated with.... Well, the last one I touched is how you test it."

"Can you... turn into any animal."

Lizzie nods. "I became a Wingdig go once."

Dr. Brown lets out a small smile.

Animal-Lover:

"Oh! No. No meat for me please.... Yeah, when I was in the forest I hunted, sometimes, I guess. But only when I was desperate. If I have a choice, I would never eat an animal, or in some other way let an animal be hurt! I'm a druid, it's my responsibility to make animals happy and do well!" 

Her examiner looked up from her clip board. "Hm... Well, that will make some of our tests harder... but we can work with this."

Betrayal and Capture:

Lizzie sat on her bed. It was warm and soft. Too soft. 
I don't like this. I want to go home.

She had most of her things. She knew when fights were fights she couldn't win. This wasn't one she could win. So, she cooperated. A few times, when she was 11 or 12, CPS found her and caught her. When that happened, she pretended, and she cooperated. Her freedom was at stake. So she lied.

Like the soulless woman lied.

Lizzie scowls. She feels an anger inside of her. Like when that robot betrayed her. Energy mixes with it inside her. Decaying rot. Harsh winds. Violence and anger. 

Destruction was also part of nature, as much as healing was. 

I'm going to kill her. I'm going to kill that soulless woman. Wren. 

A typhoon raged inside her. A hurricane. Fury and Fang. All her potential. Not unleashed. Not yet. But one day. It would be. And she would hurt that woman. She would get free. She would find her mom's and they would give her a hug, and tell her she was all right, and cuddle her while she played with mittens and watched movies.

Tears fall down Lizzie's face. 

I want to go home. I want to go home.

It takes a long time, and a lot of tears before Lizzie is tired enough to fall asleep.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlM6lcFbLSg Can't catch me now by Olivia Rodrigo. I like this song! It is like... run away music. Or. Something like that.

That is fun. I am good at running away. It is scary when I am doing it, but fun after.

2. ooooo oooooo ooo!!!!! I gottaaa include https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MK7qz13bU !!! It is so good! Elsa is like me! She has a bunch of magic, and isn't sure how all of it works, and she is trying to figure out here family, and her parents are dead. Or gone I guess. Since my bio mom might not be dead..... 

Anyway, I like that one.

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I1_5mSXinQ This is fun! My mommy's showed me it, and I did a little dance while looking like Mittens. It was really fun. 


4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BH-Rxd-NBo I learned about puns from this song! It's fun. It a little reminds me of my good times in the forest. When I could find food, and wasn't that hungry. When I could wander for weeks seeing new things, and learning, and just taking in and being a part of nature. That wasn't my entire experience. I learned a lot, but .... not fast enough. Winter was always hard.

5. Oh! I like this one! https://youtu.be/IpPIK4T068s?si=Kh96hyjxuIwfNr9L It is all about a human, and his magic nature friend working together, and how you can be stronger together! It's great, and I love it! My mommy's showed me it, and I liked it so much!

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8HxQNlLhjw is good! It is like.... The bears are a family! And I like family. Like me and my Moms and Mittens. I love them so much, and have so much fun with them!

7. Oh, I also like this one https://www.youthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkkkWcDlW2g It sounds nice. And it's about wolfs. I like wolves. You can't actually run with wolves though. Wolves are too fast. Unless you are me. Then you can run with wolves.

Lizzie sits in her room. 

Her Pajamas are comfy. Her bed was soft, but not too soft. Jaques flew around the room, examining the parts of it. He flew outside the window to the fake sky, and fake birds. 

2 months ago, that would have been a real sky. Lizzie thinks back. Aunt Pathia had warned her. Told her that jobs were dangerous. 

-------- Memory From move Lizzie keeps trying to find her history --------- 

Carpathia smiles. Familial Love. Trust. Guilt. Slowly increasing Concern.

"Sure, just gotta make sure not to over eat. That's another thing our bodies really don't like." (Truth)

Her expression slowly changes to a determined frown as she continues to feed her niece.

"So. Now is as good a time as any for me to have this conversation, and I wouldn't be able to call myself your Aunt or a friend to your parents if I didn't ever bring this up." (Truth) She pauses. Anxiety. Guilt. Familial Love. Shame.

"Have you thought about retiring as a Contractor?" 

Lizzie nods, and eats her food. 

Confusion

"What doe retiring mean? I haven't done tiring before. Is that like... Car tires? Or like sleepy tire?"


Carpathia holds back a chuckle. Amusement. Guilt. Familial Love.

"It means you stop doing something. Usually a job. So, retiring as a Contractor would mean?" (Truth)
---
Joy of understanding

"That I would stop doing jobs."

Lizzie frowns.

Confusion. Worry

"But then I wouldn't get my magic! And I need that to help the world's animals"

---

Pride. Familial Love. Guilt.

Carpathia's frown mirrors Lizzie. Resignation. Hope.

"Yeah, but there are other ways to help them, and you deserve to not have to come home with your hands covered in burns. Or worse.

You got parents and an aunt who love you (Hell, you've also got two uncles you haven't met yet, but I'm sure they'll love you just the same).

Kids like you deserve to grow up, and Contracting makes that a whole lot less likely." (Truth) Shame. Hope. Guilt. Familial Love.
---

Lizzie opens her mouth for more pasta while she thinks. 

She chews then swallows.

Confused. Thoughtful.

"But... I'm smart. And good at Contracting."

Confused. Little Self conscious

"Do you think I'm bad at it? I'm not! I wasn't in danger on the job, I just needed to touch something that was hot! "

---

Carpathia smiles a little sadly. A sudden and overwhelming wave of Grief. It's intense enough you swear you can almost physically feel it. Shame. Worry. Familial Love.

"Of course not, Flower- fu-." A sigh.
"Sorry. Of course not, Lizzie. I think you are an amazingly strong, smart, and brave kid. It's just..." (Truth)

Carpathia has to look away for a bit. Some how even more Grief.

"I've learned it doesn't matter how 'good' at this type of thing you are. Because if you keep rolling a set of dice, eventually you'll hit snake eyes." (Truth)

---

Lizzie frowns. Flinching a little bit at all the emotions. 

Worry. Confused.

"I... You can call me Flower if you want? Flowers are nice."

Lizzie opens her mouth for more pasta.
---

Carpathia tilts her head and feeds Lizzie a little more. Confusion.

"How'd...?" Realization. Grief.

"Ah, right. You can understand me when I speak Italian. I, um. I was going to call you Flowerbud, but I remember how it made you feel the first time I called you that, and I don't want to make you uncomfortable." (Truth)

--- 
Lizzie chews and swallows.

Understanding. Slight amusement 

"You weren't my aunt then. Now you are."

Lizzie says like it's obvious.

Realization. Curiousity. Suspicion.

"Are you going to retiring?"

Lizzie asks, then opens her mouth again. 

---

Carpathia gets a very small smile. Familial Love. Belonging. Grief. Guilt. 

"Thank you for saying that, Flowerbud."

She feeds Lizzie another forkful then looks away, not able to look at Lizzie for the moment.

"I want to. But I don't know if I ever will." (Truth) Shame. Guilt.

Carpathia frowns.

"Ah, screw the lie by ommission. I want to. But I don't expect that I'll ever actually do it." (Truth)

---

Lizzie chews. She swallows.

Confused

"Why?"
---
"Why do I want to? Or why do I think I never will?"

---

"Yeah."

Lizzie nods.
---
A smile. Amusement.

"Well, firstly. I want to retire because I want to be able to grow old, and see my brother's and niece's lives unfold. I want to see what the world might look like, on that distant shore." (Truth) Grief. Hope. Guilt.

"I don't think I ever will because I am very bad at taking care of myself and do not value myself very highly." (Truth) Shame. Grief. Guilt.
---

sad. Thoughtful.

"Well. If you are bad at taking care of yourself, can you ask someone else to help? Like how my mom's and you take care of me?"

Lizzie looks down at her hands.

"The don't hurt that bad now..."(True)

Hopeful thoughtful

"and... Maybe if I keep getting more magic the jobs will be less risky! Because I'll be like. A mega druid, with super nature powers."
---
Carpathia smiles sadly. There's that mountain of Grief and Guilt again.

"Flowerbud, can I kiss your forehead?"
---

Lizzie nods.

Safe. Happy. Trusting
---
Carpathia leans forward gives her niece a kiss on the forehead.
Familial Love. Guilt. Grief.

She sighs and leans back in her chair.

"I do better taking care of others. Forces me to take care of myself. That isn't very healthy, mind you, but it's how I survive." (Truth)

A Pause.

"As I'm sure you can tell, I love you Flowerbud. You're family, and I was raised with the understanding that family is one of the most important things in life." (Truth)

Another pause. It seems like Carpathia is just gathering her thoughts, piecing together what to say next, but you can tell what she's feeling. It is a Paralyzing, overwhelming, all consuming Grief. It stays that way for about 4 seconds, then it is quickly replaced with something Lizzie can't quite place. It is best described as a dull Itch.

Carpathia takes a lolipop out of her jacket and quickly pops it in her mouth. The Itch is still there.

She takes a breath.

"Sorry. You must've just felt that too, huh?" (Truth)

---

Lizzie nods. 

"Maybe if you ask someone can help you."

Lizzie leans against her aunt and gives another awkward hug.

"Yeah. But. It's okay. We can't help our feelings sometimes."

Guilt. Shame. Regret. Sad.

Lizzie opens her mouth again.
---
Carpathia smiles a little and returns the hug. She feeds Lizzie another bit of pasta.
Familial Love. Guilt. Concern.

"What's wrong, Flowerbud?"
---

Lizzie chews. She swallows.

"I'm thinking about when you and my moms found me at my dads..."

Lizzie lets herself trail off.

Sad. Grief. Regret. Shame

"I had a lot of feelings. But you and Mom and Mama were all there and helped me. Even though I was having a lot of feelings."
---
Carpathia reaches over and strokes Lizzie's hair.

"We care about you, of course we'll be there when things are too much. That's what family does." (Truth)

---

Relief. Relaxing. Hope.

"Then... We'll be there for you too! And we all take care of each other and you!"

---
Grief. Disbelief. Remorse. Familial Love. And in a corner of her mind, Heartbreak

Carpathia forces a tiny smile.

"Sorry. I'm bad at believing people when they say that, even when I can magically tell they mean it. But thank you for saying so, Lizzie." (Truth)
---

Lizzie hugs her aunt tighter.

“I love you Aunt Pathia.”(true)

---
Carpathia hugs her back, letting her emotions speak for themselves.

Familial Love. Belonging. Hope. Gratitude. Disbelief. Guilt. Grief.

---

Lizzie stays like that for a while, and probably after about 10 minutes will start falling asleep. Jet lag , and the exhaustion from the last two days hitting her.


------------- Memory end-----------

And now. Lizzie was trapped.

Aunt Kate was nice. But she wouldn't let her go. She could get money from these people. Maybe access to all the animals they apparently had around her.... they were probably trapped too. 

Lizzie looked out the window.

One day, nobody is going to cage me. Or anyone else.

Until that day, she would play along. Bid her time and grow her power.

"You will be okay my sweet girl". The mother whispered in Lizzies ear

"You can only trust us, and yourself." The outsider whispered in the back of her mind.

"This world is ours. Take it back." A whisper deep in her heart. Something coming, but not yet here.

"Soon." Lizzie hissed in snake.

Lizzie didn't sleep any more. She could if she wanted to. She just needed to not have a good berry that day.

But sleeping came with dreams. Dreams of flying over the forest with Roger.  Dreams of playing with mittens. Dreams of her moms. 

Then she would wake, and she would cry, and then her eyes would be red. Dr. Brown would ask her about her red eyes, and would feel bad.

The outsider whisperer to her.

This was good. Push her. make her your tool.

But it felt too bad to do frequently.

So instead she talked with Jacques and with Steven. And she planned. 

The first few days she planned an escape. She gave up on that though. Too many things she didn’t know. Too many things she couldn’t do yet. She would need to be stronger, and she didn’t know how she would become stronger. 

After that she started thinking about how to get help. Talk to Aunt Pathia. Tell some nice contractor to carry a message.

If only she could remember her phone number. Or get access to her email. Too much depended on the circumstances of her next contract.

The rest of the time she thought about how she would kill the soulless woman. The first few days she felt bad about imagining getting animals to kill the soulless woman on her behalf. 

“They are yours. It is us and them against the others”  The Outsider whispered

"You are more important my dear." The Mother whispered with her soothing voice. "It is natural for bees to die for their queen."

"Kill her. She needs to die. Tear her open." A whisper deep in her heart. Faint, but growing.

So, Lizzie planned the tools she would use. Wolves, bears. Hawks for scouting. A swarm, her swarm. They would find the woman that trapped her here, and bite and claw and tear until there is nothing left of her.

Lizzie shouldn't have mentioned her moms. Aunt Kate asked about them. Not directly anymore. She had diverted enough times that Aunt Kate and the other doctors knew she wouldn't tell them directly. 

But they asked around it. Where did she spend her time. What did she doe after every job? Even what brand's she was used to, and names of stores and gas stations. Lizzie didn't realize until later that that would narrow down where she was at different times. 

If they figured out where she was, then they might find her moms, and then... 

They might capture them. Then there isn't anyone waiting for me on the outside.

Or maybe they'll bring them here to me.

That last thought feels more appealing to Lizzie than she wants it to be. If they were brought here, they would be trapped like she is. But they would be with her. She wouldn't be alone.

But she wouldn't be like the soulless woman. She wouldn't trap someone just because it was good for her.

// Gosh this is a little cringe. But Lizzie isn't much of a future thinker, so need some way to conjure up the right image.

It was a long week. Lizzie hadn't slept for any of it, her magic keeping her awake and charged.

But she was lonely. Her magic was tapped out from experiments.

And so she slept.

--------

There was a storm coming. 

Lizzie could feel it. Freezing rain around her. The wind whipping around her hair. Lightning flashed near her, and fell to the ground. She could feel the whisper in her heart. Stronger, reverberating through the air, thick and crackling with energy.

"Be calm little one" The Mother whispered in her ear. There is substance to her voice there usually wasn't.

"You are not the one she comes for." The Outsider's voice. It's voice is cold, and lingering.

"She comes for the world!" The Beast. A cruel hiss, promising violence

"Non can stand in her way!" The Winds cackle, a wild giggle in her ears.

Roars and growls echo around Lizzie in the storm. On a hunt.

There is a brief clearing of the rain. In it's center, stands a woman.

The Storm. 

Her curly brown hair is messy, tangled with vines and flowers. Her hands are tipped with long sharp claws. Her eye glow a vibrant green.

--------

Lizzie opens her eyes with a start. 

She grabs her staff, and with a force of her soul, green growth shoots from it, making her a berry. She eats it, and the need to sleep vanishes from her. 

Okay. Not sleeping was the right decision.

Lizzie grumbles to herself, as she gets up to put on her Genwyld outfit and get ready to face the day.

Lizzie frowns. 

Will answering this give Genwyld any more information on her parent? On Aunt Carpathia? 

"Um. People don't die that often on my jobs." Except for SOL. Because I killed him.

"It is good that you did. It was unnatural." The Outsider whispered to her.

"That's good. But what if they did? It is important to think about these things before they happen." Dr. Brown's voice is soothing. Full of logic like she always is.

"She is using you. You can't trust her." The Outsider's voice is a hiss.

"Um... Okay. I uh...." Lizzie searches for the correct answer. "I would leave? If it's still dangerous?" That is probably what Dr. Brown would want from her.

Dr. Brown looks at her for a moment.

"Is that what you would do?"

Lizzie looks at the floor. She thinks of Carpathia.

"Um. I would try and bring some of them back. Maybe."

She thinks of SOL.

"For others I would take their stuff and leave."

"What do you mean?"

Dr. Brown frowns.

"Well. You described breaking a lot of laws in your contracts. How did you avoid the police?"

"Oh.... I ran away? Or sometimes I flew away." Lizzie says simply.

"Ah... What about... your tracks. Or evidence that you did a crime?" 

Lizzie looks at Dr. Brown confused.

Dr. Brown frowns deeper, and makes some notes.

"Okay... let's try a different topic... How did you avoid being picked up by Child Protective Services in the years you lived in the forest."

"Oh! I ran away. I hid my foot steps. They are really bad at the forest, and didn't know I was in the forest. When I was spotted it was because I was stealing food, or taking food from a dumpster or something. Sometimes people chased me. That's why I stole some pepper spray. It is good at making people lose me."

Lizzie grins, proud.

Kate Brown looks at the young girl with much more worry.

"Authorities? What do you mean?"

"You... You do know about the police don't you Lizzie?"

"Yeah. There are like a occu ... ummm. Occey pie ying army and used guns to umm..." Lizzie frowns.

"Uh.. chase people? And lock them up if they are ..." Lizzie frowns. 

"Well... In spider man I guess they didn't... In that they stopped criminals. But in the real life... I'm not sure what they do. Just that I should run away from them." 

Dr. Brown opens her mouth. Then closes it.

"That's not exactly... Has your tutor talked about this at all?"

Lizzie lights up.

"We're learning math! Also about biology! Did you know that all animals and humans are made out of the same stuff?!"

"I did know that." Says the Micro biologist. "I'm going to talk to them about making sure you have a Civic's lesson soon. You should really know more about how law enforcement and the military work."

Lizzie nods. "Okay! Oh wait! Does that mean I get to learn less about animals?"

"We can bring you plenty of books to read about animals in the evenings." 

"Yay!"

"Now. Back to the original question. What do you do when someone does something bad?"

Kill them. Lizzie thinks, remembering SOL. 

"Um. Sometimes nothing." [true]

Lizzie remembers the woman who sacrificed a hunter to some weird ritual.

"Fighting isn't always something we can do. But..." Lizzie remembers the soulless woman.

She scowls.

"Sometimes, I plan how I'm going to get veng dance."

"Vengeance." 

"Yeah, that."

"Oh! Well, we don't always know before we get to the job what we are going to do! One time we had to talk to a gorilla who was rebelling against society, and was going to use a weapon to kill a lot of people."

Lizzie frowns.

"He was a really smart gorilla! He could use English and things. He is the one who told me about monkey science." 

"Monkey science?" Dr. Brown asks.

"Like. They would do experiments on Monkeys !!! It would really hurt them! So he wanted revenge. I think the harbinger wanted us to kill him. But instead, we talked to him and convinced him not to do it... but then a bunch of humans showed up and attacked all the gorillas. It was really sad."

The Gen Wyld representative takes several notes on her clip board about the existence of a super intelligent talking gorilla.

"Do you know where this gorilla is?"

"No." Lizzie replies. "I could probably find him I guess. I'm good at finding strange animals."

"Oh. Well. Mr. F is my friend. And then there was the pretty singing lady who told me that my name was Elizabeth Martin. That was nice." 

"Mr. F! He took a shower when I met him, and I asked if we could be friends, and he said we could be friends. His face is like a fish! I think he probably has fish powers. I met him on the job where I became a giant horned monster that was super light." [True]

Dr. Brown was very glad they had tested the extend of Lizzie's ability to disern, and communicate the truth. Because some of the things she said. 

"Do all of these... Harbingers... give you code names to call them?"

"Yeah! But like I said, Mr. F is my friends, so I think he has to be my favorite. I don't really remember many of the other ones. But they have like a bunch of different magics and stuff."