Familiar chocolate pools landed on her and for a moment there was a spark of happiness. But as usual a frown brought that to an end and she lowered her own eyes. Words were less than reassuring and the physical distance between them grew. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and reminded herself this was self inflicted. She had no right to feel this way, or so she told herself as she exited the vehicle and locked it up. The words received a passive nod while legs carried her to the slayer’s side. Following along, she watched the small aluminum container skip ahead before the slayer’s foot caught up to it and it suffered another blow. It was a lot like life really. You took a couple steps forward, moving along before being kicked again, only for the process to be an endless cycle you could never break. Not unless you became a total hermit which the Empath had seriously considered. But unfortunately she was aware she cared too much for it to be a serious option. Even living in the hotel gave one enough drama and hurt feelings to deal with on a regular basis. That was calming down some now, however. Sadly, that came at a price. She missed Kai. It wasn’t as if they never saw one another but she couldn’t walk down the hall to visit the slayer either which sucked. Shaking away the distractions rampant in a restless mind, docile blue orbs moved over the thickening throng of bodies as they moved further down the street. Her barriers didn’t even flicker anymore, the powers she began with under complete control. Yet she still feared those which she could not control, ones that might one day hurt the ones she loved. Swallowing down any signs of her internal struggle, she whispered close to the slayer’s ear, “so, um, where first? Are you um, hungry? It was a silly question really. When wasn’t Kelsey hungry these days? With all the physical work she did both with the crew and away from it, that wasn’t surprising but Emma thought it polite to ask just the same.