"As I said, if you want to sign it, if you want me, go ahead. No, it's not you that I'm having complications with. If you want to be politically correct, just call it teen angst, rebellion, something like that."

Kat shook her head and laughed when Laura mentioned her adoptives being afraid.

"They weren't afraid of me. They were afraid of what upper class society would say if they found out. Looks and luxury. Nose in the air snobs who needed to have a crystal clear perfect image. I was a black mark in their name! That's why they banned me! The only reason they kept me to begin with was because Virginia was barren. They needed a child to fit their image, and got lucky I was dropped on their door step."

Kat was almost spitting her words. The void within her switch to the purest hatred and pain one could find. She had been cut deep all for the sake of society and privilege. It wasn't worth it to deprive someone of the only things they had ever known just because they were not perfect. That one small severance did more damage to Kat than she had ever really let on, and here she was, spilling it. She couldn't cry for it, the anger was consuming her.

"I...I need to get out. Can I be dismissed? Please?"

Flight, her one calm. Whenever Kat's anger welled, that was her release, to hit the sky hard and release her energy. She had intentionally kept this secret from Laura. The last thing she wanted was to register and then end up caged, thrown down by law. She needed her freedom, what little it offered her.

(eeples...Kat's gone Emo LOL!)

Laura raised an eyebrow at Kat's words. She said, "I'm going to sign the papers and try to prove to you that I want you and love you for the long hall. Yes, I see its upsetting you and I'm sorry for bringing up your former muggle parents."

She signed the paperwork with a flourish and handed it off to Ciara for delivery.

She turned back to Kat and said, "That's done. I'm sorry dear Kat. Yes you may be dismissed until dinner. I expect to see you there. Even if you're a bit late. Oh and tell Amber it will be at 630. Thanks." She turned back to the other missives on her desk. Trying to allow the girl to compose herself to leave. Dang it all, she'd botched it partially. She was angry at herself now.

(so that's fitting in just fine- hello- laura is emo from the empathy lol although she tries to control the dang thing. usually it works but woe betide those who set her off lol)

"Dinner, 6:30. Sure...."

Kat turned heel quickly and retreated to Amber's room, where she knocked on the door and stepped in when allowed.

"Bird is flying the coop for an hour or so. Laura wanted to let you know dinner is 6:30. We have to show our faces."

Kat shrugged at the thought.

"I'm out though. If you you want you can come out too, though I can't promise any thing interesting."

Kat didn't wait for a reply, she just turned and left the room. She walked swiftly, trying to get out of view as soon as she could. Once she found her usual clearing, she shifted and took flight, zooming around at a rate that most doves wouldn't care for. She zipped and twisted through the trees, banking as she nearly missed a few.

Amber had been reading when Kat entered the room. She set the book aside as she looked at Kat.

"Thanks, but no thanks. Go fly. You look like you need it."

She wasn't opposed to going out, but it looked to her like Kat just needed some alone time.

As Kat left, Amber picked her book back up and finished the chapter before looking at the time.

Sighing, she saved her place and stretched before grabbing a nicer set of robes and changing for dinner. That done, she brushed her hair, making sure she was presentable all around.

Sighing, she left the room for the dining room and stood at the door, looking around at the room, wishing to be anywhere but there at the moment.

Kat nearly halted mid air when she saw the time on the clock tower. It was exactly 6. Quickly she found her way back to her clearing, where she shifted back and ran for the house. She was still breathing heavy from her flight and from the run back, but called out, "I'm here! I'll be down quickly!"

If Laura was reading her emotions as she zoomed upstairs to take a cooling shower, she would have read the significant increase in Kat's mood. She still had her buried anger, but it was subsided.

Dressing in something random, it looked like a nice enough dress, so she tossed it on, Kat hurried downstairs, her damp hair pulled back in a low ponytail.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be late. So...what are we all standing around for?"

Kat bit at her lip, and before taking her place at the table, she turned to Laura.

"Apologies for my behavior. I shouldn't have lashed out at you."

Kat didn't take on the childish nature of hanging her head in shame. Instead, she looked Laura respectfully in the eyes, hoping that she understood that Kat wasn't angry with her at all. It was something within her that arose, and unfortunately those who don't deserve to be targeted sometimes were.

Amber was startled when Laura spoke to her, and gave the woman a slight glare in return. She was a bit upset at herself for lack of control when she jumped.

"Yeah, hi, hello, Aunt Laura," she returned her greeting distractedly, still silently berating herself for letting her guard down.

She moved as Kat came in and took a seat next to her cousin. "You look better," she whispered to Kat before turning her attention to her own dinner preparations.

She didn't know why, but Amber was feeling a bit cranky and not at all hungry. The absolute last thing she wanted to do was sit through a so-called family dinner. She'd much rather have gone outside where she could breathe the fresh air. Unfortunately, as a guest, she had to follow the house rules more vigilantly than Kat did. She consoled herself with the thought that she might be able to sneak outside after dinner and just look at the stars and forget anything else that had been bothering her.

Kat nodded to Amber's whisper, not wanting to draw attention as to why she actually did feel better. As the food was brought in, Kat waited her turn to gather some of the vegetables, skipping on the chicken. Right now the last thing she wanted was a bird, having been fresh from flight.

"Thanks..."

The words were muttered politely, though internally Kat was thankful for Laura's words. Had she said 'welcome home,' Kat would have probably bolted for another flight. It would take some time before Kat ever considered some place home again.

To be polite, Amber took a tiny bit of everything, even though she hated asparagus. At Tolly's question, she gave her preference of ice water.

She hoped she could make it through this dinner without snapping. She definitely would have preferred to skip.

As a way of preventing herself from giving into childish impulses, she decided to eat quietly, unless spoken to, and then excuse herself. She only hoped it worked.


((OOC: Sorry...Amber's still in her drawer, so I was forcing it.))

Kat smiled halfheartedly to Tolly, requesting sweetened tea with lemon. Kat ate lightly, not finishing everything on her plate, though she took little to begin with.

"May I be excused? I think I need to rest."

Kat's flight earlier exhausted more than she realized, and the lack of energy was causing her to pale.

Amber had been listlessly pushing the food around her plate with her fork. Rarely did she actually eat anything. She consumed more water than food, her appetite being a low priority for the present time.

She couldn't help but glance up as Kat asked to be excused.

"Me too?" she asked, although it sounded more like pleading.

Without waiting for an answer, which she knew was horribly rude but didn't particularly care, she was out of her chair. Seconds later, she was outside, with no memory of how she'd gotten there. All that mattered to her was that she was outside, but not in a crush of people.

She lay down on the grass, uncaring about the state of her robes. She looked at the sky, without seeing it. She listened to everything around her without really hearing it. If something changed, however, she'd register that and be prepared for anything.