Samantha only chuckled at Nadya's insistence that Aiden would no longer see her in the clothing that she'd walked in with. Truly, the young faerie was amused by the insistence that her clothing was so horrendous. Sure, they were full of holes and didn't fit her as well as the clothing she currently wore, but Aiden had seemed to like her even in the ill-fitting thrift store finds. "You're not buying me enough for a whole wardrobe," Samantha pointed out, giving the girl a small grin. "I can't promise that he'll never see me in those. But he'll see me in the nicer clothes too. That I do promise." She grinned playfully, unaware that their playful evening was about to shift into something much more chaotic.

Samantha was all too aware of the way that Nadya's whole body tensed, that sense of chaos that rose up in Nadya becoming the focus of Samantha's attention. She moved quickly as she pulled Nadya into the dressing room, wasting no time in getting the dress pulled off of her. Samantha winced as she heard the sound of Nadya's bones breaking. As much as she hated to admit it, she had to look away as her skin shifted in a way that was entirely unhuman. Still, Samantha reached forward to put a hand on Nadya's arm as she stepped in front of her. She wished she could pour her own calm into the girl. She wished that her own ability gave her more than what she could do at the moment. She hated seeing the girl in pain â€" emotional or otherwise â€" and Samantha felt all too helpless as she stood in front of the girl, using only her words to try and calm her down. It didn't seem to be enough. Nadya had done so much for her, and she had nothing to give back.

She was thankful when Nadya seemed to get even the slightest bit of control, moving to get her street clothes. It gave Samantha enough time to change back into her own clothes before she was pulling Nadya back towards the front counter. She merely squeezed Nadya's hand as they walked past the mother and her child, tugging her towards the counter. It was all too unlike the girl to be demanding, but in this circumstance, tugging the girl forward only felt natural. Samantha held onto Nadya's hand as she watched the clerk slowly ring up and fold all of the clothes. Feeling the way Nadya could hardly hold it together, Sam wanted to urge her to be faster, but she hardly had the words. Samantha blinked in surprise when she finally announced the total â€" it was more than Samantha would have ever imagined spending on clothing, but Nadya hardly hesitated to hand over her credit card. Either the amount hardly mattered to Nadya or she hadn't heard her properly. Samantha would have to be sure to find a way to pay the girl back.

It happened so quickly. The way the infant's cries burst through the store at an ear shattering wail. The way any bit of Nadya's control seemed to shatter like glass. It was different than in the dressing room. There was no amount of talking that Sam could do to help her at this point, though she leaned in and put a hand on her shoulder. "Nadya, focus..." She said quickly. She knew that supernaturals were known about in the city, but Samantha hardly wanted to watch the girl shift in the middle of the store. Still, she pulled her hand back as Nadya scrambled to get her clothing off. It hardly mattered. The shift seemed to explode from her, leaving a panther in the place of the young woman. "Nadya..." Samantha whispered, her body frozen in surprise at the events. Everyone in the shop had paused, staring as the panther burst from the store.

Samantha reacted fast, grabbing Nadya's purse and the bags, taking the credit card from Amanda's hands as she darted after the woman. She left the clothing on the floor as she burst from the store with the same frenzied urgency. She dropped the bags outside the store, kneeling beside the panther. "Nadya," She cooed, reaching out to put a hand on the panther. She supposed that she should have been careful, though having seen Aiden be in his animal form, she hardly felt as though she was in danger. "Nadya, it's Sam. It's me. It's going to be okay." She reached out, stroking the woman's pelt. "I need you to come with me. We're gonna get you in the car and we'll go to my place. It'll be okay, I promise."

Samantha Cassidy