There was certainly something about Raven that caused the young faerie to trust her entirely. Despite their rather disastrous first impressions of each other â€" in which Raven had attacked first and asked questions later â€" Samantha had found herself enjoying the presence of the girl. If Raven was bringing her a faerie to meet, then Samantha had no doubts that the situation was a safe one for her to be in. Still, the blonde had no desire to attempt to be alone in the situation. Raven had proved herself to be a considerable judge of character, and Samantha was positive that in the event her life was in danger, Raven would protect her without a second thought. It is this in mind that she'd walked across the walkway in the Ark, headed towards the brunette faerie. At Raven's nudge against her thigh, Samantha gave her a small pet on the top of the head â€" a silent thank you for her support.

The faerie girl that Raven has brought to her hardly appears to be a threat, and Samantha's shoulders relax as she takes in the girl. She's slight, like Samantha herself, with the pointed ears giving her away instantly. She looks no more than sixteen, maybe seventeen, though Samantha had been around faeries long enough to know that that was never an indication of what their true age may be. It is the small girl's smile that seems to finally sell Samantha. She's no more of a threat to her than her newfound faerie roommate, Dorian, and Samantha can't help the pull that seems to gnaw at her to protect this girl. "Ivy then," She says gently, her own smile growing as she moves to take a seat.

It is the young girl's next statement that causes Samantha's smile to fade. "You weren't born a faerie then?" She questioned, her voice decidedly gentle even though she felt remarkably tense. Her mind flashed to her own kidnapping. The way those three faerie girls had stolen her from her family and kept her in a constant state of fear for seven days. The way they'd giggled as they slit her throat, promising that they were doing her a favor. She thought of the way she had nightmares still that featured their faces or the sound of their laughter. The thought of this tiny girl going through that made Samantha's stomach twist in anger. "I... Ivy, I'm so..." Sorry didn't seem like a strong enough word for the situation. There were no words to take away the trauma of what it felt like to be changed. Samantha remembered the way they'd cut her throat and her wrists. She'd prayed for that to be the end to her torment, but dying had been far worse. The fire in her veins from the ritual had seemed to burn her alive. The change had been painful. Excruciating, even, and when she'd woke she'd been entirely alone in her new world, merely a shadow of the person she'd been before.

"It happened to me, too," Samantha said finally, her hand clenching on the arm of her chair as she attempted to steady herself. "There's no words for it. But I understand it. I do." She dropped her gaze for a moment. The ritual had caused her to avoid her own kind as though they would harm her, even though the girls at the burlesque seemed to only want to torment and tease her. It was only now she was coming around to the idea of being around her own kind. Dorian had been charming, even if his 15th century ideals were a bit outdated and he frequently stole her bed and forced her to sleep on the floor. Ivy seemed remarkably sweet, and invoked an almost sisterly sense of duty to protect her.

It was Raven's words â€" her human words â€" that caused Samantha to look up. She'd been so lost in her own thoughts she hadn't noticed the wolf shift into the woman that stood beside them. She cast a glance over at Ivy, almost daring her to comment on the state of Raven's scarred appearance. Raven, whether she chose to believe it or not, was remarkably beautiful regardless of the scars that marred her skin. Samantha was determined to help her see that. Still, Samantha focused instead on the words and shook her head.

"There are no monarchies near here," Samantha commented lightly. She'd heard the girls at the burlesque comment on how they'd had no queen in Sacrosanct, no reason that they couldn't do whatever it was they pleased. It was those dangerous thoughts that caused human girls like Samantha and Ivy to be at risk. "There's no queen around here to control the faeries. Nadya..." She shook her head. "Well, me, now, I suppose. I guess I'm the closest thing, considering I manage the girls at the burlesque." She glanced over at Ivy. "A lot of the local faeries work at a burlesque over in the East. It's owned by the Beta of this pack, though I'm managing it now in her absence." She explained gently. "But even then, I can't control what they do in their own time. And they're hardly warm when it comes to the girl who wasn't one of them from birth."

Samantha Cassidy