My heart can't take this damage.

At this point she had lost track of days.. the weeks. Things were bad. It had gone down a lane she never had thought she would. She had spent days and night searching. Found herself getting deeper and deeper into the darkness. Lion tried to keep her together, but staying still just kept her closer to going insane. Valeria was missing. Serenity was dead. Jasmine was half of the time missing. Jamie was grieving. And on the top of her list and top priority was the fact she couldn't find Reginald. She knew something was wrong. Something bad must have happened. Tiana had forced her to sleep a few times. And Ana was way more calm than Mariella was. Anastasia kept reminding Mariella that they would find Reggie, and he was strong - her optimism tried to match the hopelessness Mariella felt in her chest, but it was hard. Mariella had gone for a walk on the Southside, it was here all dark energy was felt the strongest - and she begged that one way or another he would reach out - or that maybe she could feel his dark energy. Just something. Mariella took a deep breath in and took a sip of her beer. Then she saw one vampire she wasn't in the mood for.
"As I just thought my day couldn't get any worse," she sighed and looked at Cole. "Couldn't you just be so nice to move your ugly face from this earth or something?"

Outfit

Cole didn’t care. Why should he? Serenity was dead. She had been his anchor, the only thing keeping Cole stable, and now she was gone. He wiped away the blood on his lips from his latest meal. He hadn’t cared about killing lately. He was out of control. Scott had gone to be with his family. He didn’t blame him. Cole just didn’t have the same options. Yes, the coyotes were more of less his family, but they needed a leader. Fact was, he didn’t have anyone to go. He couldn’t deal with this alone, so that meant he didn’t deal with at all. Unless going on a murdering spree counted as dealing with it. He grunted annoyed when he caught the scent of Mariella. He was definitely not in the mood for her at the moment. He turned to her when she spoke to him. ”Listen kid, I am not in the mood for your snarky comments, so just move along. Let’s not do this tonight.” It might not be clear why, but he didn’t want to hurt her. It was clear his brother had not been fair to her, so maybe he should cut her some slack. ”Do you ever shut up? Haven’t your parents taught you any manners?” He walked closer. ”Or taught you to be careful who you piss off. I get why you don’t like me, but tonight is not the right night to get on my nerves.” He narrowed her eyes and looked at her. ”Show some fucking respect.”

She snorted at him.
"You are not in the mood? I'm sorry when have I ever seemed to care about your moods?" She snapped back. Mariella rolled her eyes by the next comment. "Oh they taught me plenty of manners," he walked closer to her. And had she been in her right mind, she would possibly been careful not overstepping the vampire. But this was something she could control. In some weird way she had convinced herself that.
"Is that a threat?" She asked and took a step closer to him. "Are you talking about respect? That is rich coming from you," she was cold. There was no sense of light in her eyes. Mariella took the bottle to her lips and emptied it.
"Your entire face is getting on my nerves, but we can't always get what we want now can we. So can you just shut the fuck up for a moment yourself?" She threw the bottle aside letting it shatter on the road. Maybe all she wanted was a fight, to help her mind distracting itself from this emptiness.
"Does it make you angry? Knowing you couldn't do anything? or that you didn't do enough? Because it makes me angry.. feeling hopeless.. empty.. like nothing makes sense anymore."

Cole ignored her. Her words didn’t matter. It was just a teenage girl attempting to stir something up. He was above that kind of thing. He was not that temperamental, but right now he was awfully close to rock bottom, and it made him act out more than he wished. He turned around to walk away. He didn’t need to hear this. Until she talked about her. She didn’t have the right. They might have been kind of friends, but that was nothing compared to his history with Serenity. He turned back around and rushed to her, standing a few centimeters from her. ”Either you are stupid or you are searching for a fight. Either way, you are going to get it. I am done with hearing your annoying voice.” He tightened his jaw. He was so close to just attacking, but something held him back. A twisted sense of honor. ”You get the first punch, I will get the last.” He had a few unfair advantages to her, if you thought about their species. But he didn’t doubt she knew how to fight. Her mother was the serpent queen after all. She must have taught her a thing or two. ”Show me what you got.”

Oh she had tried to pick up fights with Lion the last weeks, but he didn't let her get it. He knew why she was like this, and Jamie she didn't want to fight Jamie. Theo had gotten a few punches, but no one wanted to fight her other than Valeria - and she was missing. So this person who had the face of one of the people who had wronged her the most - if there was anyone she wanted to punch it was that face. His comment made her chuckle. Vanya had told her to be careful of the dark, it was so easy to lose your way - but what if you already felt lost? The night. The moon and all these negative emotions added to her physical strength but not close to a vampire. I didn't mean she could give a burning punch or serval. Mariella felt her nails pierce through the palms of her hands. She was close to tears, but she moved her anger and guilt up front. So she threw the first punch, with a force stronger than expected from a siren - placed right on his right jaw. It felt somewhat good, she breathed out and everything went quite for what felt like hours before she threw in another punch. Clearly she needed this.
"Fight back.. Come on.. Fight back!" She screamed at him as she was about to throw in another punch. She wasn't going to stop.

Cole was careless. He didn’t care what happened to him, what happened to people around him. He was truly lost now. At least before he had a place to go when he needed to be understood. Now he had nothing, and that made him dangerous. It was hard to break someone who was already broken. He felt the punch. Her strength came as a surprise, and he took a step back, stunned by her punch. He took another hit. She wanted to him to fight back. He was going to do so. He punched her jaw as well. Then another one to the jaw. ”You fucking deserve this!” He yelled and took her by her shoulders and pushing her into a wall. He held her there, lightening appearing in his eyes. ”You nearly killed her! And you think you have the right to talk about her!?” He took a step away from her and spit out blood on the ground. ”Whatever the hell your problem is, find a way to deal with it. I am not your fucking punching back,” he yelled. He was not better himself, but it was always easier spitting advice at others than at yourself.

The punch made her world stop spinning for a while, but this was different. It was almost like it made her able to breathe, just for a little second at least. He yelled at her before pushing her against a wall. Mariella looked at him with blank eyes.
"Look at yourself," she just like him spit some blood out on the ground. His yelling was making her blood boil, and she didn't know how to do anything but react to it. "You think you are the only one who can lose someone?" She yelled back and snapped at him. She moved closer to him.
"I know it might come to a shock for you.. but I feel too okay? And It sucks," her voice was almost cracking.
"But you are right.. I fucking deserve this.. But all I wanted to do in my life, was being someone better," she pushed him back, "I just wanted to be someone better," she gave him another push back.
"You want absolution?" she asked lashing her arms out, "take it. Fucking take it," she pushed him back another time, but all she felt was the tears in her eyes as she pain in her heart was to hard to bare.

The unknown had always scared her, and now more than ever was it the biggest fear that roamed in her. Not knowing where Reginald was. What type of pain he could be in or if there was any way of saving him. She wanted him back, but what if she wasn't enough. What if she wasn't strong enough to get him back. She felt her knees getting weak. And as she took a step she fell right down on them. Her hands felt the dirt under the palms and she tried to regain her ability to breathe. Mariella was gasping for air, her chest was hurting like someone had stabbed her serval times and just kept on going. "Please.." she whispered and hammered her fists through the cold ground before sitting back up. Her hands reached her head as she grabbed on to her head. Her tears ran down her cheeks. She couldn't stand this feeling of emptiness and not knowing.
"I just want him to come home.." he voice cracked and she looked up at Cole. "I just want him to come home to me.." She cried, her hands landed on her lap as she just tried to inhale, but she was so broken at this point. Everything seemed so dark, and it was tempting just to let the darkness all the way in. "Just make me feel something else."

Cole scoffed by her words and crossed his arms. ”I don’t recall ever saying I am the only one who can lose someone. Stop putting words in my mouth.” He stood still as she came closer. ”You’re wrong. Feelings don’t suck. They are what makes life worth living. You should stop making presumptions of me. You don’t know me. Just because I look like my brother, doesn’t mean I’m like him.” He didn’t mean people to hurt people. But that was all he knew. He didn’t know how to deal with this loss.
He let her push him back. He was over this. He didn’t want to hurt this girl. She clearly had some things to work through, and violence was hardly the way. ”We don’t get to pick the cards we are dealt. We just have to use them the best way we can.”

He saw her fall, and at first, he didn’t know what to do. So he just stood there. Eventually he walked to her side and sat down next to her. ”I’m sorry. Whoever it is you’re missing must be some man to have you love him so.” He turned his head to her. ”I could make you feel something else, but what good will that do? It is just a temporal fix. If you want to feel better, don’t run away from your feelings. It never works out. I would know.” He took in a deep breath as he felt the tears pressing on. ”You were her friend. If she accepted you, I want to as well. We might never be friends, but maybe we can stop these violent run-ins.” He looked away from her and started breaking a small stick he found on the ground. A way to keep him occupied. ”I never told her how much she meant to me. I knew it, I just never said it. She died not truly knowing how much I cared for her. I have never regretted anything more.” He allowed a few tears of blood run down his cheeks.

She looked at him as he got down next to her. Mariella looked so disheartened and defeated.
"He is my home," she said in such a low cracked voice. Mariella closed her tearfilled eyes as he spoke again. She felt her heart beating out of control, the knot in her chest were tightened so tight. "I know.. its just.. I can't lose him.. I won't survive," she opened her eyes and looked down to the ground. She didn't look at Cole, she couldn't. If she looked at him it would mean facing these emotions that was tearing her apart - and she couldn't deal with that. He changed the subject on to Serenity it was another sadness, another grief.
"The last time I saw her.. we were singing karaoke, just drinking and not worrying about the past.. or the furture. It was a good moment, I wish I had gotten more of them," she admitted in a sigh and finally turned her head towards him.
"I bet she knew. Despite our differences, we do share some of the same values. It was clear her loyalty was with you, and people who stays - they know the other person cares," she spoke and tried to get her voice to sound a little bit normal.
"I was scared to feel again after.. everything.. but Reginald taught me one important thing and that is.." she blinked her tears about feeling the need to just cry. "that love is something that deserves to be fought for, with every single nerve in your body.. If you love someone.. you can't walk away," she let herself fall back and let her back meet the ground.
"but I failed him. I've been looking and looking. Without him.. I feel like I'm unable to breathe.. like I'm going to die...  and I know it sounds silly.. and I should just get my shit together.. but I already lost him once.. We died and had to fight our way from hell to get back.. and I'm scared out of my mind." Many people were lucky if they had just a chance to find the type of love Reginald and herself had.

Cole knew the feeling of a person being a home. At first that person had been Serenity for him, now it was all the coyotes. Of course Jeremy meant a lot to him, but he had never been able to be his true self with his brother. Not completely. He listened to her last experience with Serenity. A soft laugh slipped past his lips of imagining the scene she described. ”She was one of a kind.” She was right, they did share some values. ”I don’t think our problem is our differences, it’s our similarities.” They were more alike that you think at first. They both seemed to run away from their problems, trying to make them better by fighting everything in sight. ”I hope so,” he said silently and looked at her when she talked. ”He sounds like a smart guy.” It made him wonder if everyone truly loved him. Other than Jeremy and Serenity, everyone had left him at some point. His relationship was Scott was complicated, but Cole definitely had some undefined feelings for him. He was afraid he would never get the chance to see what they could lead to. He gave Scott his space, but he was scared of a lot of things. ”It sounds more like love. Not that I would know.” He laid one of his legs down on the ground and bent the other so he could fold his hands around the knee. ”All these things you’re feeling, maybe you should try and think of them differently. Maybe they can be a motivating factor rather than a hindrance.” He stood up and offered her a hand. ”You’re not so bad. I can see why Serenity likes you.” He swallowed when he realized he talked about her in present tense.

"He is," she breathed out. Mariella closed her eyes and tried to get controle over her breathing.
"I'm trying.. I'm trying so hard. But its just so hard," she opened her eyes and looked at his hand. She knew she shouldn't see Jeremy when looking at Cole, but this was baby steps. It would still take some time separating these two people in her mind. She got up on her own, and wrapped her arms around herself.
"I should.. call my father I guess.. or someone," she took a deep breath in and gave him a nod. "If you want to talk to someone.. you should find her sister Malia.. for what I know, she is dealing with this alone as well." she gave him a short smirk before heading the other way.

She picked up her phone and found her fathers number.
"Heey dad.. " she started. She knew it was late, but he always picked up - even now when he didn't have any memories with her like in the past. "I know its late," her voice was still so weak, it was clear she was upset. "but.. im .. do you want to come get me?" she asked. Mariella felt her tears fill up her eyes once more. If he replied with a yes she texted her location and sat by a bench waiting for him to arrive.

Cole knew things were not easy. Life rarely was. ”It is. But if it’s easy, what’s the point? You have nothing to fight for.” He nodded when she mentioned calling her dad. He looked away when he mentioned Serenity’s sister. He wasn’t sure he could face her family. ”Thank you. I will think about it.” Cole placed himself next to the bench after she had called her father.

Jayden picked up the phone when it rang. He listened to Mariella’s voice. He had trouble with seeing her all grown up, but it also showed him that he had done something right. She was an amazing girl. ”You can always call me, no matter the time of day.” He could hear she was upset, which bothered him more than he let on. ”Of course. I’ll be right there,” he said and ended the call. Shortly after he received the text with the location. He put on a jacket over his deep blue shirt. Other than he was wearing jeans. He drove as close to her as he could, before he left the car to go to her. He felt an anger rise in him when he saw her condition. ”Did he do this?” She asked without giving the vampire as much as a glance. He sat down next to her daughter. ”It’s okay now,” he said and put his arm around her. She would be able to feel the heat radiate off him. She was so cold. ”I am right here,” he said and kissed the top of her head.

She didn't speak to Cole while she waited. She had moments still where she could look a little and her heart would skip a beat in shock. It was difficult with him looking so much like Jeremy, the only difference to spot was really in the voice. Mariella lifted her head up when she saw her father come closer to them.
"It doesn't matter. I started the fight anyways," she answered as she breathed exhausted out. Mariella was thankful he just sat down next to her and put his arm around her. She put her head closer to him and felt her emotions like a giant wave just throwing itself on land. I am right here, and that was all she really needed in the moment. Mariella closed her tear filled eyes and let the silent tears run down her cheeks.
"Can we go home?" She asked after a little while of just silence. She turned her eyes to her father, the small tears were still running down. But she just wanted to be someplace where she felt safe, and at home. That feeling had been hard to find these days. Mariella was tired and her being tired made her even more emotional than she wanted to be.

Cole respected that she wanted silence. When her father came, he felt it best for him to leave. He looked at the girl. ”I hope you find him. And maybe some peace with him.” He walked away from them, deciding what to do now. He didn’t want to go home, but where else could he go?

Jayden was not a fan of her getting into fights, even less that she was starting them. In any other situation, he might have thrown himself at the vampire, but right now, he knew she needed him by her side. He sat with her for as long as she needed. ”Of course we can.” He stood up and waited for her to do the same. ”I’m parked just around the corner.” He informed her. He scratched the side of his neck. ”I am happy you called me. I want to be there for you. And your brother as well.” He started walking towards the car, when he was sure she was ready to go. ”I can take you back to Abigal’s house, but to be honest, I would prefer it if you came back to my apartment.” After Veronica had told him about the twins, he had looked for at place to stay. He had some ties to Italy, but it was not something he could let go of to be close to his children.

//Cole out.

She gave Cole a nod and watched him walk away. Mariella wasn’t the right person for him to console his demons to - she had enough around the mansion. Mariella stood up when he did, and dried her eyes. She gave him a small smile when he said that he was happy she called him. Mariella followed him towards the car.
”I don’t really feel like going back there. It seems.. to empty,” she explained and felt her heart skip another beat. ”I’ll just text Lion that I’m staying with you tonight. Then he has one less person to worry about,” the last part of the sentence was said in a low voice. Maybe she should text Jamie as well. She would most likely even text Reginald in hopes of him seeing it and come find her. She texted the three of them and put her phone back in her back pocket. She was uncharacteristic quite, and maybe it was that she looked on her background on the phone which was one of their selfies from Auckland. Or perhaps it was her ring on her finger - a little bit of both. Mariella exhaled and got in the car when they reached it.

”My place it is,” he concluded from her words. He wanted her to tell him anything, but he thought that would be better to do back in the apartment, where she didn’t need to worry about what people thought of her. If she needed to cry, she could. He nodded when she wanted to text her brother. ”One of these days, both of you should stop by. I have two extra rooms to both of you. They are not really decorated yet, but maybe we could all do that together,” he suggested. As they came to the car, he said in behind the wheel. ”Are you hungry? We could drive by some place, get some take out.” He wanted this to be a good experience, even though it seemed like she was in a rough place. He wanted to take care of her. He might not have been a father for long, but he was trying to be a good one. Although the way he acted, he would have acted towards anyone he cared about. Maybe he wasn’t truly a father, before he sat boundaries for his children. He didn’t fully understand when you went from being just a father to being a dad. He started driving, ready to take a swing if she decided she wanted food.

”That sounds like a good idea,” she liked the idea of her and Lion doing something together with their father. It was something most teenagers might seem like a typical thing but Mariella took all the normal and small things with open arms. Everything to feel a small piece of normal.
”We can always just order a pizza,” she suggested with a smile. She wanted to tell everything, but the problem with that thought was she didn’t even know everything. Mariella took a deep breath in. She felt more like herself by the second, but her father had always had the effect of dragging her out of the darkness. He just didn’t know it yet. Mariella was her fathers daughter and she loved her father very much. That was clear in how calm she seemed to get.

Jayden smiled when she seemed into his idea. He could easily get the rooms decorated himself, but it felt like a good chance to bond. They knew him, but he didn’t know them, and he wanted to. He nodded when she wanted pizza. He loved pizza. Italian pizza was better than what you made in the rest of the world, but the pizza in Gaia was not that bad. ”There’s a place close to my apartment we can swing by,” he suggested and looked at her with a smile. ”It’s strange,” he said and looked back at the road. ”Not that long ago I held you in my arms, and now here you are. A beautiful woman.” He let out a short chuckle. ”People say that it feels like their children are grown from one day to the next. I don’t think this is what they meant,” he joked. His face folded in a more serious expression. ”If you want to talk, I will listen. And if you don’t, that’s fine too.”

She smiled when he said there was a place close to his apartment, she knew that. It was their place, but she didn't want to spill all the things for him. She looked over at him when he said it was strange. Mariella narrowed her eyes shortly till he looked back road. She kept her eyes at him however. A smile reached her lips, it was perhaps the biggest smile she had given since her and Melania had been taken by Harry.
"I get the strange part," she admitted and looked back at the road. It must be so weird for all the parents who knew. She put her head back when things got back to the more serious part. There was a lot to talk about, where was a lot of emotions that wanted to be lashed out, they were much bigger than her and her body couldn't keep containing them.
"I think talking might be good. I just need to figure out where to begin.. its been a long fight.. still is," she admitted and looked down. One thing that had changed most in her life ever since her mother had included Jayden in their lives, was she wasn't scared of telling him when something was wrong. She wasn't because she didn't feel like she could tell her mothers - but she had an easier time telling her father. Mariella couldn't remember what it was like before him, but she knew it was better.

Jayden kept driving towards his place. ”Your mother did tell me about this, but I’m still adjusting,” he admitted. He parked the car when they arrived in front of his apartment complex. He turned to her. ”There is no rush or pressure. If and when you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen.” He grabbed for her hand and squeezed it shortly before letting go again. He looked towards the restaurant on the corner. ”But first pizza. One day I want to take you and your brother to Italy for some real pizza. This is good, but it’s nothing compared to Italian pizza,” he added with a smile. He could have taken them already. It was strange that she had a whole past with him that was still in his future. Would something change by them interacting? He excited the car and walked over to open her door as well. He was still baffled by the fact that Mariella and Lion were of royal decent. He was maybe from an elitist family and had royal friends, but his own children being royalty as well was another pill he had to swallow. He had an entire cocktail of pills by now.

He said no rush. But Mariella felt everything was in a rush. Everything around her happened so fast, and she could feel herself slowly shutting down. Nothing else mattered than finding Reginald. She didn't care about herself, it was hard even to care about others. Mariella however knew she couldn't shut down, she should keep on fighting.
"I will look forward to that," she smiled a little and took a deep breath in. Since Jamie had shut off his humanity there had been no trace of him. He was gone in the wind, just like Reginald. Lion tried to comfort her, but a part of her still wasn't over the day at the beach. She tried to forgive and forget - but it was easier said than done. Before she could get out of the car he opened the door for her.  Mariella stepped out of the car and took a deep breath in. Her jaw was still sore after the punch, but she was holding up fine.
"Continuo a sperare che le cose diventino più facili,"(I keep hoping things will get easier,) she breathed out as they walked to the pizza store.

Jayden could see it in her eyes. Sometimes she drifted away. Something or someone was on her mind and the thought of them or it killed the light inside her. The light in her eyes disappeared for a moment only to return the next. It pained him that someone so young so feel like that. She shouldn’t. He just wanted to fix it. He also knew some things weren’t always fixable. He took a step towards the pizza store but stopped when she spoke Italian. It took him by surprise, until he realized he had probably taught it to her. ”Mi dispiace tesoro, non credo che saranno,” (I’m sorry sweetheart, I don’t think they will). He walked beside her and wondered if there was something he could say to make it better. ”Life is a series of events we can’t always control. What we can do is chose how we handle them. If you are anything like your mother’s, nothing is going to take you out.” He grabbed her arm to stop her. ”You’re strong. I can see that. You are probably stronger than me. But I know strength doesn’t come out of nowhere. You have to allow yourself to feel weak. If you don’t crumble, you can’t rebuild yourself into something stronger. I can’t help you be strong, you have to talk to your mothers if you want that, but I can be here if you need to be weak.” It wasn’t fair that anyone had to be a strong example all the time. Sometimes they were allowed to be sad or angry of whatever they needed to be.

He stopped her before they got in, and he turned her tired eyes towards her father. Mariella took a deep breath in to his answer and shook her head a little.
"Devo credere di sì," (I have to believe it will) she admitted before taking a few more steps, but he grabbed her arm to stop her. Mariella took a deep breath in before looking back into his eyes.
"Everyone thinks I'm strong.. some one smarter.. someone sharper.. more brave.. but I'm not. I.. I can't keep handling this, but If I break now.. There is not gonna be anything to pieces left to get picked up," she swallowed her emotions and felt her heart skip a beat. It wasn't something she liked to admit. "I don't need to be strong.. I don't need to be weak.. I need to still be me when this is over. I already know what losing myself feel like, and I'm not going down that path again. "

"You don't know this.. but I always come to you. That is the reason I can handle what I can handle today. You taught me to believe in myself.. of course mum and mom did as well. But I was never quite sure they understood me, but I knew you did. I still know that," she pointed out and looked back into his eyes.
"You can tell me to clam down, to take a break, but I'm not gonna rest till I get my man back. No matter what it takes." Mariella was a wheel of emotions, and she had a hard time keeping track on how she was feeling. It was like for every turn, another emotion punched her in the face. Mariella looked down at her hands, and entangled themselves. "I just want him back.." she said with a low voice.

Jayden didn’t say anything. What could he say? He couldn’t fix this with words. It needed actions, and he wanted so bad to stop this girl from being sad. She was too young to be this sad. ”I’m sorry,” he just said with a sigh. ”I’m supposed to know what to do. I’m supposed to help you through this, but I have no idea what I’m doing. I guess I’m not the father you know. Not yet.” He had stopped himself from swearing, as Jessalyn had made it clear the children had enough of that from Veronica and didn’t need it from more than one parent. ”It’s just unfair. I saw you recently as a baby. You were so happy and carefree and now I look at you and you are not that. I know you have grown up. I just want that sunshine of a girl back,” he said with a slightly sad look in his eyes. It hurt him that she was hurting, and he felt he couldn’t do anything.

Her words made the sadness in him grow smaller. ”So you’re daddy’s girl?” He said with a smirk. He was happy to know they had a profound relationship in his future. He was afraid he would just become a friend of the family rather than a father figure. ”I get that. Trust me I do.” He said with a sigh thinking of when Charity left. ”I have searched for someone once to. I never found her again. It sucks big time.” He didn’t mean to imply that she would not find her love, so he quickly added something: ”I’m sure the same won’t happen to you. I was the only one searching for her, but to my understanding you are all a tight knitted group of friends. I’m sure they’re all looking for him. Somebody is bound to find a clue or something.” He walked closer to her and put his finger underneath her chin and lifted her head so their eyes would meet. ”I know magic, and even though I am no longer able to perform it myself, I can find someone who can and find a way to him. I promise you,” he said with as comforting smile as he could. He would try with everything he had, but how could he know if he would be successful? He didn’t know anything about this boy or about the people who took him.

Mariella listened to him and shook her head, when he said he was sorry. She understood the frustration. Just thinking about suddenly having teenage kids running around, dealing with what her and the others were - it must be worst feeling ever. Which was why Lion and Mariella hadn't told any of their parents about Tiana yet. It wasn't fair for Tiana, but she understood it. Just by standing here and talking about all this, was a risk that could change things in her future. Mariella looked up shortly when he said, I just want that sunshine of a girl back and looked back down.
"I'm sorry," she shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment. The last thing she wanted was to get more emotional than she already was.
"No one is supposed to know how to deal with any of this. But hey, I will survive," she pointed out with a little smile - trying to be optimistic.

"Always," she added to his question. She wanted to find Reginald more than anything. She felt like she had been looking everywhere, but maybe Christian was right, emotions blurred her vision and made the task more difficult. Mariella listened to him talking about someone he had been searching for, and a quick stab of fear went through her like a spike. Mariellas eyes seemed blank for a moment, when through he added he was sure it wouldn't happen. However it still was a possible. What if she never got to see him again?
"I guess... but we are not working as a team. Everyone is turning on each other.. But there are still plenty of brains to be able to at least find one clue or another.." she took a deep breath in. Mariella looked down at her hands, and took a deep breath in. He walked over to her and put a finger underneath her chin, making her look up.
"All magic comes with a prize.. we have a witch.. But I don't want her to pay it.. even through she is to stubborn for her own good," she exhaled and looked away again. She hated feeling this lost and hopeless - what she hated more was other people being hurt by her behavior. But giving Tiana that kind of responsibility, if they failed it would cut a wound never able to be healed. And Lion would surely only hate her for being selfish.
"Do you know any good trackers? Wolves.. I was told by someone I met.. that If I could find something with his scent.. it would be possible."