You Are Not Welcome Here

Ksenia followed Katerina out of the family lounge, Cleo by her side. They walked past the staircase that would lead them down to the ground floor, continuing further along the corridor. Soon enough the older witch was opening a set of doors and inviting Ksenia into a dark room. Candles and the fireplace were lit after a few moments and soon the girl was able to look around the room. Blades and other weapons covered the tables and walls, the space lacking the smell of being lived in by a person.

"The room suits him," Ksenia murmured almost to herself as she looked around.

Katerina smiled sadly at the room and Ksenia's remark. She had always thought that there was more to her son than his career. It was just so hard to find, sometimes. Azazel had buried it deeply. Perhaps this girl could recover it.

"It suits a part of him, yes." she nodded. The woman leaned against the door of the room, careful not to touch any of Lucifer's possessions.

"What are you to him, Kyra?" she sighed. There was no point in placing hope in this girl for her son if she was just a nobody.

Ksenia walked further into the room, studying the weapons intently. Perhaps she should start learning how to defend herself properly. That would never hurt anyone. She turned as Katerina asked her a question. "What am I am to him?" she repeated, her tone musing. That was a very hard question indeed. She had not even asked herself that question yet. "I am the girl he promised to protect," she answered simply. She did not have a better answer at that point and she did not want to think of one. Why was everyone demanding something from her? Katerina wanted her to be something for her son. Lucifer was the only person who did not demand anything of her and he was the person who had more right to do so than anyone else. She turned once again, lowering her head slightly. This night was certainly not going how she wished for it to.

Katerina sighed and shook her head. "Would he promise to protect someone he didn't care about?" She ran her hands through her hair and swept it to the side, so it rested on her left shoulder.

"So I'll repeat the question, Kyra." she walked towards the girl so they were face to face, and held her softly by the shoulders, ensuring that their gaze was always locked.

"Who are you to my son?" she breathed, blue eyes piercing.

Ksenia gasped slightly as her framed was turned by Katerina. She narrowed her eyes at the woman and met her gaze with equal strength. "I do not have an answer for your question. You will have to ask Lucifer himself," she answered coldly. If it's a fight she wanted, it's a fight she would get. It certainly wasn't what Ksenia expected from Katerina.

Katerina shook her head and sighed deeply, releasing her hold on the girl. Did she not understand how much faith she was willing to put

"I do not wish to fight with you, Kyra." There was a short silence. "But I will for the good of my children." she breathed uneasily. Arguing was not her prime. Being a mother however, was.

"Do you think Lucifer will know?" she asked, genuinely intrigued.

"Know what?" Ksenia raised an eyebrow at the woman, not sure what she was talking about. Her voice remained emotionless and her gaze strong.

"Who he thinks you are to him." Katerina said plainly and began to fiddle with one of her earrings between two fingers. "You both seem to be in the dark about it." she murmured.

"Why has he promised to protect you?"

"I am one of the last two remaining Coeus witches. That is the only reason why he agreed to protect me," Ksenia said, almost snapping at the other woman. Why were there so many questions? Why couldn't they just leave her and Lucifer alone tonight after Abraxas's death?

She sighed. "I do not meant to insult you. I hold great respect for you in fact. It's just been a long night," she said as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Katerina's gaze remained calm and steady as the girl snapped at her. She could understand her reasons. In some ways, the woman could see her younger self in Ksenia. More feisty, stressed, confused.

Misunderstood.

"You do not insult me, Kyra." she reassured her. "But you have my husband." Katerina frowned at the girl's words. "A long night?" she asked.

"How so?" she attempted a kind smile. "Come, tell."

Ksenia couldn't help but smile at the woman's kindness. "Lucifer killed Abraxas tonight. It was meant to be a a good night," she sighed as she stepped closer. "Lucifer should be congratulated, not punished." She wasn't sure what to say to the woman now. She was ready to argue with her a few moments ago, but she always hoped that Katerina would offer her kindness.

"He killed someone tonight?" Katerina sighed warily. She knew of course that this day would arrive- her son's first assassination. He had killed before, she knew. But never an organised murder. Or had he? Katerina bit her lip. She was losing track of her children.

Though she could not help but have a spark of hope that Lucifer could still..

No. It was in his nature- as it was in his father's. She would not discourage his talents. What he had been trained for since he could walk.

The woman nodded and hummed softly in agreement. "Azazel...he wants Lucifer to be the best he can be. In that way, he is a good father- I want you to understand that before you judge our family." she grimaced slightly.

"He did," Ksenia nodded her head slightly.

"I would never judge your family. I have always thought greatly of the Sicarius line, even when I was a small child. I couldn't help but relating to the family in some way," she said with a small smile. "I come from a very old bloodline as well. What angers me about your husband is that he chooses to ignore the connections that are centuries old," the younger witch explained as her eyes drifted over to her leopard who had settled herself by the fireplace already.

Katerina grimaced at the confirmation. She knew that her hope was unreasonable, but was no where near enough to extinguish it.

The woman smiled sadly. "I don't want you to judge us by our blood, Kyra. I mean for you to judge us by ourselves." She shook her head slightly and watched the flames of the fireplace as she spoke. "Our personalities."

"I suppose that's where Azazel and I agree. We..." she trailed off, trying hard not to overwhelm the girl. "We want..." she sighed and brushed her hair away from her face tiredly. What did they want?

"A good friend for Lucifer- with the right personality." Katerina bit her lip. "A very specific personality."

"Its a good place to start when judgments are concerned. The Sicarius bloodline is ancient, something that you can take great pride in. It would be a great honour to be known by the name Sicarius," Ksenia explained herself. "But you are right, most of my opinion should be based on your personalities, but I am afraid that I do not know them well enough yet."

Ksenia blinked at Katerina a few times. That statement was unexpected. Their union of marriage that was surely expected by others has not even come across the witch's mind at that time.

"That is more than understandable. You wouldn't want a random woman to be the one standing beside the next Godfather, let alone giving birth to the next generation of leaders," she said evenly.

Katerina nodded wordlessly and paused for a long moment, deliberating what to say next.

"You remind me of myself." she smiled softly. "My younger self."

She sighed in relief. "I'm glad you understand, Kyra. I just..." Kat shook her head again and sat on the edge of Lucifer's bed. "I just want the best for my children." Her eyes saddened.

"I never thought it would be this hard when I married Azazel. If you were to..." she trailed off, implying the idea of marriage.

"...prepare yourself." The woman stood and left the room swiftly on that note, afraid that if she stayed, she would push the younger girl over the edge.

Ksenia turned her head as her eyes followed Katerina's passage out of the room. She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts of the things that the woman had said. There was far too much on her plate already to be concerning herself with the ideas of a marriage right now. Her thoughts quickly wandered back to Lucifer as the door closed leaving her alone in the room with her familiar. What was happening in the family lounge right now? Was he hurt? She couldn't help but worry, starting to pace by the window as she waited for his arrival.

Lucifer took a deep breath outside his bedroom door before entering. Once he had composed himself he walked in, headed straight for the batheroom and closed the door. He needed to clean himself up. The cut across his cheek bone look swollen and his eye was already beginning to blacked. That wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

Ksenia turned, watching silently as Lucifer walked across the room. He was injured, and that was partly her fault. She couldn't help but bite her lip as he closed the door behind himself. The witch walked closer to the window, leaning against the wall beside it slightly as she waited for Lucifer to come out.

He sighed as he looked in the mirror, that was still going to be there when school started again. He so angry with everyone at the minute that he reached out and threw what was closest to him at the mirror and shattered it.

After assessing the damage he slide down the wall and held back the tears that were over due.

Ksenia's head turned sharply as she heard something shatter behind the closed door. The young witch ground her teeth together. He was upset. She had to do something. It was her turn to help him however she could. Approaching him now wouldn't do her any good so she decided to use the connection they made with the vow instead.

Seating herself down in an armchair, the young witch made herself as comfortable as possible, taking her shoes off and tucking her feet underneath her, she relaxed and concentrated on her mind. The task at hand was not an easy one, but after almost ten years of Occlumency and meditation training that her mother gave her, it would prove easier to her than it would for most.

Ksenia traced her memories back until she found the one that she was looking for, there were quite a number of memories quite identical to that one and she could have picked any one of them for this particular purpose. The picture in her mind that she brought into focus was that one of a nine year girl sitting on she shore of the large lake that was encopassesd in the grounds of the Volans Manor. What always fascinated Ksenia about the lake as a young child was that no matter what happened around it, the waters would always remain clean and calm. A storm would pass to stir the deep water, but the next morning everything would be back to normal. It was perfect, always serene, exactly what she needed right now.

The witch's eyes were closed as she imagined herself drifting in the water, feeling nothing but the calmness that surrounded her. Relaxing all her muscles, she let go of all of the other thoughts, concentrating on the feelings instead. It took some time to clear her mind completely. She remembered the water, it was almost soft to the touch as it run down her little hand, she remembered the sound that it made as the tiny droplets feel back into the lake.

Ksenia concentrated in that feeling of calmness, making it go past all of the other emotions she could feel, strengthening it as much as she could to drive it further, hoping that it would be enough to help Lucifer.

A sudden wave of calm washed over him. He had no idea where or why he suddenly felt this way but he did not like it. He wanted to be angry, its how his mind worked best. He needed it to fuel him so he could get the job done.

Suddenly it clicked and barely a second later he was on his feet and barging back into his bedroom. "STOP MESSING WITH MY HEAD!! I GET ENOUGH OF THAT FROM HIM WITHOUT YOU DOING IT ASWELL!" He spat.

"My emotions are mine got it?! You have no right to control them!"

Ksenia's eyes widened in shock and she leaned back slightly in her chair, away from his angry form as he came in. she nodded her head slightly. "I understand. I am sorry," she said quietly. She couldn't help but duck her head slightly. There were a lot of things that she needed to learn about this place.

He stood there and paused, not used to easily being obeyed. He expected a fight, hell he wanted one but it was clear he wasn't going to get one here. "Good." He said looking around the room and heading towards his training equipment. "Im going training!" He said and left without another word, slamming the door after him.