Every day was the same... To most, that would perhaps sound like a good thing, or maybe something someone would say when there was no change in their routines. Wake up, go to work, run errands before or after that, then go to bed the following evening just so it could all start over again. But, for the blue-eyed blonde, "every day was the same" couldn't be further from a statement of comfort or a growing boredom with the direction in which her life has been heading for the past months. No, for Lani, it was waking up in the middle of the night because of the nightmares. It was feeling the heartbreak over and over again as she remembers those days spent with him, the one whom she'd once believed would be a steady presence in her world, the reason she could smile as she walked through Hyde Park or sat on the sun-bleached sands of the ocean shore to the south of Sacrosanct. It was remembering how he'd made her laugh, how he'd made her smile... It was remembering those trips to Somnia, a world so far away from this one and yet one that she'd once hoped to call her home... There was a time when she would have done anything for Andras, the tall and dark figure whom she'd met that fateful night when sleep had been hard to find... when she had been so new, so naïve to the other beings that walked the streets of Sacrosanct. She'd known nothing of the world she'd walked into without as much as a single hesitation. Before, it had been just another city for the young woman. There hadn't been anything truly special about it aside from the fact that she'd come from a small country town hours from here. How terribly wrong she'd been.

And then, there were those nights when she felt only pain, heard only her screams as they filled the musty stone walls of that cellar. She would wake up in tears, hands clutching tightly at her sheets as the pain grasped at her all over again. Still, she could not un-see the face of the man who'd held her captive, bound her by her wrists and ankles... She'd begged for her life in those final days of her life, only for those desperate pleas to go unanswered as his wicked gaze is the last thing she sees. Well, almost. Her story should have ended there, the life leaving her bloodied body malnourished and tired. Her heart should have stopped that night. Maybe her body would have been found days later after a missing persons report had been filed by her parents when they learned that she was nowhere to be found. Then again, maybe not. Maybe she would have been lost to the rest of the world, her dear mother and father left wondering what happened to their precious child who'd once been so full of hope and light, dreaming for a chance to become a well-renowned photographer to capture some of life's most beautiful and sacred moments that so few could. Who knows what might have happened if Andras hadn't managed to find her, if it hadn't been his voice that called her from what she could have only imagined as purgatory or some middle plain between life and the afterlife or whatever it was that rested beyond the mortal existence she once knew. At first, if her story was to have been written in the pages of a book, it might have been a happy ending. She would have awoken in a hospital bed with him beside her, holding her still-dirty hand, those dark eyes lighting up with relief to see that she was going to be alright. But, that wasn't what happened. It hadn't been by some miracle that she survived. It had been magic. He'd changed her. The one thing he told her that he would never allow... and he did it after shattering her heart... after what she thought he might feel for her as she felt for him came crashing and shattering down around her.

She hadn't known what it was like to have her heart broken until that very moment.

Last night was just like the ones before it. Now, for the first time in so long that she could hardly remember the last time she'd been here, Lani sits on that old black futon, surrounded by her things that should feel familiar and thus bring to the blue-eyed blonde some sort of empty comfort. But they didn't. Gently curled hair like that of early morning sunlight fall over now pointed ears, but one ever-constant reminder of what she was, what he'd done to save her life and take it all away in the same fell swoop. Cascading over slender shoulders, she does nothing to brush away the stray strands that fall over her face as she sits there in that silent room, eyes of summer skies staring into the depths of her coffee and cream like she might find some out-of-reach answer there. She is so still, sitting there in what had been her favorite powder blue tank top and jean capris, solemn as she tries to shake away the remainder of the memories which so often plagued her thoughts. Suddenly, there is a warmth against her arm, accompanied by a gentle mew, and it is this affectionate gesture from the tortoiseshell feline that is able to set the young fae woman free. A small, soft, yet somewhat empty smiles finds blush-colored lips in that moment as one hand falls away from its previous grasp on the white ceramic mug to stroke the long fur adorning the cat's chest."I'm okay, Chika. I promise", Lani whispers softly to her dearest companion. Seemingly content with the young woman's words, she leaps down onto the floor and pads over to the living room window, taking her usual perch to watch the events of the outside world. For a moment, Lani admires the way that the sun halos her feline friend's fur of splattered blacks, browns, and oranges. How lost she would feel had the change in her world meant the loss of the one creature who's been there for Lani in some of those darker days... Even with the ever-sweet Ellie stopping by the Riverdale apartment every day to check on the blue-eyed blonde fae after she'd moved out of the townhouse the hunters had been kind enough to shelter her in, there was a deep connection she shared with Chika that surpassed all else in these past few months that have been spent trying to pick up the pieces of her life she'd had before everything.

Only somewhat aware of time passing her by, the young fae woman finally stands from her place on the futon and makes her way across the small one-bedroom residence and into the kitchen where she cleans the cup and places it back in its cupboard. Well... I suppose I should probably see about finding a job. She knew, however, that this was just another likely futile attempt at trying to establish some sense of normality in her life. All the same, she needed money. She might not need to eat anymore â€" which was still something Lani was adjusting to like everything else â€" but that still didn't change the fact that there was rent and utilities she would once again need to be paying. Slipping on a pair of white slip-on sandals and retrieving her small white leather off-brand purse from the small table beside the front door, she steps outside and into the warm summer afternoon. Being mindful to lock the door behind her, she makes that once-familiar walk along the balcony of the second floor and descends down the stairwell. From the outside looking in, everything was just another day. Another normal day in the city â€" and that's what she is always trying to tell herself. Once at the bottom and on ground level, she stops. Baby blue eyes turn to the space reserved just for her, and her mind cannot help but remember the white sedan that used to be hers. However, it wasn't there. By now, it was in some tow yard, maybe some used lot waiting for its next owner. But Lani didn't want it back. Not with the memories that would so easily rise to the forefront of her mind. Quickly dismissing this observation, knowing that it would only upset her to reflect for the millionth time of everything that she'd lost, the young fae woman takes up an easy stride down the sidewalk. She cringes still at the loudness of the city around her that hadn't always been so overwhelming, fights against the scents that assault her in a way she'd never been bothered by months ago. It is hard for her to ignore them, and she is left wondering if it had been a bad idea, deciding to get lost in the streets of Sacrosanct. Maybe she still needed more time... Maybe she still wasn't ready...

It's now or never, Lani. You can't just hide away for the rest of your life...

These words once spoken by a kind and so very gentle old fae woman she can't help but miss deeply lend her but a small sliver of assurance that this was what she needed, even if it really wasn't what she wanted. The longer she hid away and tried to refuse what she was, the harder it was bound to get... right? Isn't that how it worked? Surely Ida would have encouraged her to do this? Again, she is fast to act on the memory threatening to overtake her and shoves it away, though the prick of guilt is still felt before it can disappear. She hadn't meant to leave Somnia the way that she did... but there was no staying there any longer... Not when everything reminded her of Andras... All too desperate for a distraction as she moves through the bustling streets and into the quieter part of the city where she knows Hyde Park to rest, she lifts her gaze to an overhanging sign in the distance that reads "Brewed Bliss". She doesn't remember the name of this coffee shop, and it is in this unfamiliarity that she seeks an escape â€" the best escape she remembers finding in far too long. She slips inside, taking a curious glance at homey décor and finding the rich aromas enticing despite their strength. She waits patiently in line before placing her order with the smiling red-haired barista, stepping aside to wait for the iced chai tea latte she'd requested. The soft voices of the others that filled the coffee shop are hard to drown out, but she tries all the same. Every single sense was so sensitive, so delicate, that it was too easy for several conversations to try and crowd the blue-eyed blonde. Thankfully though, the afternoon rush was over and only a small number of beings lingered in the comfortable chairs here."Here you are, miss. One grande iced chai tea latte", comes the chipper voice of the young woman with crimson locks tied so perfectly into a pony tail."Thank you", the fae woman replies softly with a weak smile that seems to be the best she can offer strangers anymore. Taking the plastic dome cup in hand, she exists the coffee shop and sits at one of the tables beneath the shady canopy outside. She knows the park to be perhaps only five or six blocks further, but for now, this particular street was relatively quiet and that was enough for Lani. It was away from the places she used to visit and, in theory, that meant she was not likely to come across anyone she might now.

And so, she sits there, enjoying her drink and the summer lull as best as she could manage, even going as far as pulling from her purse the book Ellie had gifted her with. Maybe, just maybe, she might have control over something in her world today. Ah, but time and time again, she was always shown just how powerless she really was in the grand scheme of things.