Daria stood near the gates looking out into the world. Mike was still "asleep", she still couldn't sleep and it was taking a toll on her. She was getting anxious and moody and had disappeared from the mansion for some time. She was back now, having cleared her head. Her hands were still too "busy" and so she had purchased her first pack of cigarettes.

Black and Milds, they were light and smooth and didn't smell to strong but it was all she could do since she still couldn't buy alcohol. She needed something for the pain.

She blew out her cloud of smoke and watched it dissipate into the clear air. It was going to be hard. She could feel it already.

Daria took another drag of the cigarette then threw it to the ground nearly disgusted with herself. Her days seemed so slow lately. She found herself playing mother, sort of to hairpin and Sarah and still, occasionally to emmy and Ruby, not to mention Jamal. But who was taking care of her? Linda had returned to the lab the week before and, although Daria could teleport almost anywhere she wanted to go, she couldn't up and leave whenever she wished.

She still had classes at the university; she wanted to teach a class...or that was the plan she and Mike had. To stay at the mansion and eventually become teachers. She bit her bottom lip at the thought of him; it wasn't supposed to be like that, Daria was supposed to be with him forever.

A deep feeling of lonliness settled in her stomach, her tail wrapped around her leg, hugging her.

((*Tackles* BUDDY))

Emerald stalked up behind Daria in wolven form. The Wolf let out a soft whine as she looked up to her friend. Emerald morphed into her human form, tail wagging back and forth.

"Hey Dar, long time no see." She smiled, tilting her head to the side like a curious puppy.

She was trying to be as optemistic as possible, even though she knew that this wasnt the time. Her friend was depressed and she could sense it. She could also smell the cigerrate smell, but didnt wish to put dar on the spot.

She knew Daria had been gone for a while and things had changed. Even though she still wore her tattered old jacket all the time and Ruby was still scared of crabs both Lupin sisters had changed.

Ruby now tried her best to act more mature, though failing miserably And emerald..well what can we say about our resident she wolf. Well What we can say is that she seemed...more serious lately instead of her lighthearted self. She was Worrying Ruby and the young ones who were used to seeing her so happy.

But things happen that make people change.

((HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII EMMMMMYYYY!!!!!!)

Daria smiled slightly and pet Emmy on the head. She could feel the change in the girls too, and looking down at Emmy she realized how selfish she was being lately. She sighed and sat on the grass next to the she-wolf, still scratching the girl behind the ear.

"how're ya doing?"

((YEA! Buddys are together again! Like the three musketeers except there are only two...))

Em relaxed immediately when Dar began to scratch behind her ear. She thought for a moment, trying her best to stifle the serious attitude she had taken lately.

"Fine!" She said with a small grin. She wanted to assure her that everything was fine, even though it wasn't and the fact that she had missed her while she was gone. "I am now an official motor cross rider!"

Daria looked down at her appreciating the effort.

"That sounds dangerous..." she began, hearing the familiar motherly tone in her voice. "but um... I don't know what it is so.."

Emerald rolled her eyes at Daria's mother tone.

"It is not! All I'm doing is racing around on my motorcycle around a track with a bunch of guys." Emerald stated, tail wagging back and forth. "And even though they try ramming me off the track and threaten to beat me up every time I win its not dangerous at all."

Even though em was allot more serious now, she still didn't quite know the full definition of Dangerous.

Daria's eye twitched, then her ear, then her tail. Meanwhile she was fighting off the urge to grab Emmy, lock her in the danger room, and demand that she not do anymore riding but she realized she wasn't Emerald's mother and simply sighed.

She tried a different aproach; she laughed. "Did you even listen to what you just said?"

Emerald thought for a moment before nodding knowingly. She grinned at Daria.

"Yes I did listen to what I just said! Besides It cant be anymore dangerous than the crap Fusionist used to make me do, or the stuff we do here." Emerald replied hotly, tail lashing back and forth. She was just trying to make her point clear...besides she had come to find that anything she did was dangerous.

"Things have changed since you have been gone Dar Dar...I have changed since you have been gone." Emerald said in a tone that really wasn't like the young she wolf. It was alot more serious now.

Not that Daria had stayed the same exactly. The frustration in Emerald's voice slowly crept into her own mind as she removed her hand from the warm spot of fur she'd been petting. She lit another cigarette, being sure to blow the smoke away from Emmy, even though it wasn't that strong.

Maybe it was time for Daria to...care a little less. Emerald was right, living at the mansion was dangerous and even though Emerald was young, she was an xmen and Daria couldn't baby her forever.

"You're right, Emerald. I'm sorry. Ride as fast and as much as you want. It isn't any of my business." she stood up.

At that moment Emmy's heart felt like it dropped into her stomach. Don't get her wrong, she never like being taken care of by others, she felt that made her weak. Actually, that was why she always tried to be happy, because she was afraid of showing any other emotions was making her weak.

Emerald never had voiced this with anyone, not even Ruby. But she would voice them, right here and now.

"Dar...It is your business whether you like it or not." Emerald stated, trying to her best to hide emotion from her voice before failing. She turned into her human form and curled her knees to her chest.

"You know whats bad Daria? You know whats pathetic? Is the fact that even though so many things have happened in my life and i haven't ever cried about them. I haven't shown anguish, pain, I have kept everything inside for so long that I think that I have lost my ability to cry. " Emerald paused, Blue eyes looking up at Daria.

"I don't want you to be like me Daria. I don't want you to bottle up everything inside behind a smile or a cigarette. It's because If you do you will feel so sick of yourself you will become serious without any emotion at all and I want you to be like you used to be. I want to be how I used to be. If thats even possible now."

((Woa emmy goes confucious on us))

Daria smirked, the cigarette held skillfully between her lips as she spoke.

"With Mike gone, my emotions are almost eight times worse." she hadn't slept since he went into his coma, without his powers to pacify her mind her night terrors kept her tossing and turning. And furthur more, Mike kept her calm. Now that he was gone she realized how scared she was and how paranoid as well.

"I'm not bottling anything up. I was keeping a day and night vigil by Mike's bed. That was pretty much the only time I was ever here. He's not waking up anytime soon, I realized." she blew the smoke out through her nose. "and that's just how it has to be.

"Like in your case, you can't go back to how you used to be, and that's just how it's supposed to be. You grew up, you crossed over a bit." she thought for another minute.

"Yeah, you're still my responsibility. We're family." the last part was almost inaudible. She hated to admit it but part of the reason she had come back was so that she could check on the girls and Jamal. It would have been nice to say she had no more attachments than Mike but it was no longer the case. She even missed Tricity.

Emerald smiled lightly, Tail wagging back and forth. She had heard the last part, due to her wolven hearing. But she still wanted to put out that stupid ciggerate though.

"Well since we are family I have to tell you one thing. You smoking ciggerates offends all of my super senses and I guarentee you that Jamal is gonna start ranting to you about it." Emerald said with a light grin. She then felt her face turn serious again.

"Daria...I DONT WANT TO BE SERIOUS!" The wolf girl exclaimed, she turned back into her wolf form again. She covered her face with her paws as she began to whine like a wounded dog. "Its not fun! Everyone is worried about me because I havent been myself and I haven used a mirror in months and...and... this just sucks!"

Daria could smell the cigarettes almost as well as Emerald could. To a normal human, a Black and mild was perfectly light but to animal hybrids, the smell was almost 11 times stronger, for emmy, maybe 13. Daria sighed and put it out, placing it back in the box. Jamal had seen Daria smoking but the look on her face and her whole demeanor was so...different he was almost unsurprised to her doing it. She put it out only for the sake of Emmy's nose.

Daria also couldn't offer much of an explanation or consolation for Emmy's problem. She herself had done enough changing to not know what to do.

"Easier said than done, I know, but stop being so serious. Why are you so solemn anyways? Is it because of the fusionist mission? It's over now, you have to let it go."

Emerald was glad she had put out the cigerate and merely nodded in thanks. She listened to dar and Merely sighed in exasperation. She knew that was what Dar was gonna say but that wasnt it. She had a lot of other crap that was going on in her life that just made it hetic.

"Dar dont you think I have gotten over having half of my back nearly burnt off?" She asked irritably, "Its not that it s the fact that friggan Bloodfang almost got me right after you left. Now he has stinkn guys at the Racetrack that have been trying to run me off the road with a semi while Im heading home. Its also the fact that a little girl millie thinks of me as the coolest person in the world but I dont understand why she calls me mama." Emerald finished.