like a kitten¹ P.H.

Chapter 8

"So, she bit him?" Henry questioned in disbelief, listening to a story Tracy was telling.

"She did. Took a big chunk out of his arm, too. Then, she started crying, because he was crying." Tracy smirked at Xena, who was furiously rubbing her temples.

"Crybaby much?" Victor, who hadn't spoke much, laughed. He shortly after recieved a roll to the head, thrown by Xena herself.

"Don't play with your food, sugar." Tracy said as she threw a green bean at Xena. Xena glared at her, slowly picking up Patrick's roll.

Patrick grabbed her hand, bringing it back down to the table and taking the roll out of it. She snatched it back, going to throw it. Patrick grabbed her wrist again, slowly putting his fork down. He turned to her, staring daggers through her mind.

"Don't. Snatch." He took the roll from her hand, snatching Victor's roll and handing it to her. "Take his instead."

Xena smiled widely, taking the roll and nailing her aunt in the forehead. Tracy looked up in shock. A look of absolute bewilderment graced her soft features. She picked up her own roll as well as the one Xena had thrown at her.

"You really wanna do this, sugarplum?" Tracy leaned into the table.

Rex and Alphie let out loud barks, and left the table quickly. Patrick, Henry, Belch, and Victor shared looks. One by one, they sunk under the table. Xena nodded her head firmly, picking up Patrick's roll once again. Patrick, who was still under the table, decided he would allow it this time.

"Oh, it is on."

Chaos soon followed, and it ended soon after that. The dogs, of course, appreciated the amount of food thrown all over the place. There were green beans stuck to the ceiling and walls. It didn't take long for the two to run out of food and energy. They plopped back down in their chairs, letting out a huff of breath each. The sound of the door opening sent the dogs back into mayhem as barking filled the air.

"Honey, I'm home. God that never gets old. Oh f- snicker doodles. Again? This is like the third time this month. For reference, dear, it's the 7th, " Zachary ranted and came to a stop when he saw the boys hiding under his table. He slowly reached for his came to hit them, but Xena quickly ran over, taking the cane from him.

"B-b-but boysssss. Grooosssss." Zachary was acting like a toddler, but this was just how goofy he was.

"Zee, you're a boy," Tracy said with a smile, knowing he was being a drama queen.

"I am not. I'm a truck." Zach smirked before bellowing as if pretending to be a horn.

Xena covered her ears, scrunching up her face. Her uncle was too loud for her sensitive ears. She looked over to see Tracy coming at them quickly.

Tracy pulled her husband's face to hers, kissing him. She knew how to keep him quiet for sure. The kiss was followed by Xena covering her eyes and hiding under the table with the boys.

"They're kissing, Xena. It's normal," Henry said while looking at her as if she was the weirdest person ever.

Xena responded by sticking her tongue out in a gagging manner. She, of course, was not prepared for a green bean to be shoved in her open mouth by Victor of all people. She coughed, hitting Victor on the side of his head.

"Ow!"

"That's what you get." Xena laughed.

Above the table, Tracy and Zach had stopped kissing. They traded in their kisses for jumps of joy. They had finally heard Xena talk after so long. This was the start of her recovery. At least, in their eyes it was.

"Xena, you talked, darling," Tracy said with a smile on her face.

Xena shrugged, blushing as all eyes were now on her. She smiled shyly up at her aunt, who got down to pull her into a massive hug. Over Xena's shoulder, Tracy mouthed a thank you to the boys, holding her tighter.

After the ruckus, the boys decided it was time to leave. It was a school night after all. Xena waved goodbye and gave each one a hug, leading to her uncle gagging each time. The boys left and Xena went upstairs. Shortly after, her uncle was at the door. He looked a cross between happy and worried.

"I know you like them, but don't let them know. You can't let them know what you can do, Xena. I know that sounds awful, but it's for your safety and theirs." Zachary was looking down, scratching his nose. He wasn't used to giving orders, even if they sounded more like suggestions.

Xena nodded sadly. No matter what, she would always have to keep it a secret.

"I'm sorry, Xee, but it has to be this way," Zachary said, sighing when he got no response, "good night, I love you, Xee." He walked out, knowing he'd get nothing back from the girl.

Xena's shoulders shook, and her vision blurred. She stood, angrily throwing a flaming spheres of rage at her wall. This wall already had smudges where burns had been before. Tears fell from her eyes but turned into steam before they could reach her trembling lip. Over and over, she threw fire at the wall, until she tired out and collapsed to the ground in a ball of tears and whimpers.

"Well, well, well, lookie what you can do." There, in the corner of her room in her fluffy grey chair sat Patrick.

No longer did Patrick have the kind look in his eyes. It was replaced by a dull glint of nothingness. His lips were pulled up in a scary grin, and he had his elbows propped on his legs, giving him a mildly menacing aura.

Xena tensed, looking up at him. In his eyes, there was nothing. Xena shuffled away quickly, feeling her back come in contact with the wall behind her.

"You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't have seen any of that." Xena began to panic. Years of secrecy for nothing. She had a moment of weakness and didn't watch her surroundings.

"Oh, come on, Xee. Don't you trust, Patty here? Or perhaps you'd prefer a different form." Patrick's head spun in a full circle, and instead turned into the face of Xena's mother.

Xena backed away in fear, not understanding what was happening. Her mother's face began to burn and peel, turning her into a charred figure. The figure laughed, and its eyes glowed yellow. This wasn't Patrick, and it wasn't her mother.

"It's your fault, Xena! IT'S YOUR FAULT I'M DEAD," The figure shouted angrily, slowly coming closer to her.

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! I DIDN'T MEAN TO," Xena shouted back, slowly standing up.

Xena began to get angry. The figure knew nothing of what happened that day. Xena was a calm person, but when angry, she could wipe out an entire city in one sniffle.

Xena's eyes began to glow like the embers of a fire. Her skin began heating up, and her hair started to become a large ball of flames. With rage and sadness in her eyes, she looked at the figure, which was looking back at her with confusion and a hint of fear.

Xena raised her arms, and her hands were illuminated with white, hot fire. She took a step towards the apparition, her eyes nothing short of murderous.

"You are not my mother. I'm giving you a chance to leave, and if I ever see you again, you'll be dead before you can realize your mistake." Xena's voice held more power than she knew.

Her words shook the figure to it's core, making it pop out of there as fast as it could. It took Xena almost 2 hours to calm down, and by then, she couldn't even consider sleep. Instead, she went into her bathroom and took a cold shower, enjoying the blissful cool compared to the heat she'd carried all day.

She stayed awake the rest of the night, reading a book she had started a few days earlier. Later, with her eye bags packed for a trip around the world, Xena groggily got dressed and ready for a new day. She fed Zeke and took Alphie on a walk, as well as Rex. She made breakfast for herself, as well as her guardians.

She left the house before her Aunt or Uncle even woke up. She walked through the streets of Derry, stopping to admire the scenery every once in a while. At some point she saw a flash of bright orange from the corner of her eye, but it was gone as soon as she saw it.