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Airplanes to Acara were like car rides for dogs. She loved them. Except this time, she was dreading it. The intern was put in charge of the band. She had to make sure they were at the airport at the right time, on the right flight, and once they landed that they were where they were supposed to be. This is what she wanted to do once she graduated. Travel; be in charge of a band. But not this band.

The feline felt horrible for dreading this trip. It was exactly what she wanted. She was going back to Europe! She was going to help run concerts, see new places, have some importance! And hell, she was sitting in first class! Acara sighed as she looked around the cabin. She sat in the last row, away from everyone else. Trent was sitting all the way in the front with Robin. (This is why Acara was so far away.) Josh and Jeordie was somewhere in the middle, and she sat with Ally. The calico cat didn't mind sitting with the red panda, in fact, she enjoyed his company. He was always nice to her, and seemed to care when she was having a bad day. But recently, she just didn't know. He seemed a bit too worried about her. It made the feline start to withdraw, she wasn't used to that.

Ally was, in fact, very worried about the cat. He never got to speak with her after the bar, and she just vanished that night. Since then all she had been wearing was long sleeve turtle necks. The panda knew something was wrong, since it was summer time in LA and she always looked like she was sweltering. Now was no different, she was looking away from him in a black shirt that covered everything. The musician sighed and twitched his bushy tail. He had to talk with her; she couldn't escape from him now. Once the plane took off and was safely in the air he decided to go for it. "Hey, Acara?"

The feline snapped out of her train of thought. "Yeah, what?" She didn't sound too happy; all she wanted was to be left alone.

Ally sighed, "I've been meaning to talk to you about something. You said something at the bar the other night and..."

"If I said anything, I didn't mean it." Acara knew that sounded mean, but she had probably said a lot of things that night that wasn't true. She just didn't want to deal with any mistakes she made at the moment.

No, she wasn't getting off that easy. "You told me Trent raped you." Ally said it flatly. He usually wasn't this frank, but he felt it was the only way to get any information out of the cat.

Acara's green eyes went wide when she heard what Ally said. She told him that? Why would she tell him that!? Her fur stood on end as she stared at the red panda. After that reaction there was no way she could hide it. "What did I say?" She whispered.

The keyboardist frowned, "You said you ran into him after the show and you brought him back to your place. And, well..." Did he even need to continue? He watched the feline's reactions carefully. He saw her ears droop down and her tail quiver. Ally never had seen a fur so distressed in his life.

"I..." the cat started to speak but then shook her head and looked down. She couldn't lie to him, and even if she tried it would be totally unconvincing. "Yeah, that happened." It was very apparent that she did not want to talk about the whole situation. Acara expected the panda to start prying to get more information. But instead he reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling the cat in for hug.

"I'm sorry," Ally whispered into Acara's ear. "I needed to know if you were telling the truth." He gave her a squeeze and pulled back. That's when he noticed the feline was crying. "Are you going to be ok?" He felt horrible now; he didn't want her cry. Especially since they were in the air, and the rest of the band would probably hear everything.

Unfortunately, Acara was about to have a breakdown. She was emotionally and mentally shaken up from holding in everything. And here was Alessandro, genuinely worried about her. She had to let it out; she needed to speak with someone. Timidly, the poor feline opened her mouth. "It... It happened again." The intern couldn't look at the red panda. Her eyes stayed focused on floor of the plane. She didn't see the musician's eyes fill up with rage, nor his paws clench into fists. What the cat did notice was a low growl coming from the fur next to her. This caused her to finally look up and see the disgust covering Ally's face. His expression scared her. Acara let out a frightened mew and sunk down in her seat.

It made sense to the musician why she wore the sweaters now. Trent must have hurt her bad. Why couldn't he have seen this earlier, it was a huge sign to spotting abuse. "I know he has problems," Alessandro snarled, "and I know he's struggling. But he has absolutely no right to do this to you." He looked up the isle, his eyes focusing in on the Weimaraner talking to Robin like everything was perfectly normal. "I'm telling Rob, he can't get away with this kind of shit!"

"No!" Acara reached out and grabbed onto the panda's paw. "You can't! Ally was about to speak, but the feline cut him off in her low but panicked voice. "If you tell Rob he'll make me go home! I can't! I need this internship! It'll get me a job after I graduate next year! I've been waiting so long for this. Please, please don't say anything." She didn't care that the lion sitting in the next row over was staring at her, she started sobbing. She desperately clung to Ally's shirt as if that would make him understand how much this experience meant to her.

The panda shook his head, "Acara..." He felt his heart sink. "Your safety is more..."

The feline tightened her grip on the panda. "I... I don't care. I need this Ally. I..." She repeated something her parents had always told her. "I just need to get over it."

"No!" Ally pulled the cat away from him so she would be forced to look into his eyes. "You can't just get over this. Look at you. I may have not known you for long, but I can tell you're a total mess. He destroyed you Acara. There's no getting over that." He sighed, the feline would hate him if he told Rob, and he didn't want to lose any trust in him that she had. "Fine, I won't tell him ok? Just, do me a favor." The calico cat nodded. "Stay away from Trent. If its work related, then you have no choice. Other then that, don't go near him. I don't want anything else to happen to you."

A small smile started to grow on the feline's muzzle. "Thank you Ally." She wiped the tears from her eyes and gave him a hug. "I can do that." The panda smiled back and pat her on the head. Acara was finally managing to calm herself down. She wasn't really dreading this anymore; she had the red panda to talk to. Her tears dried up just in time for their dinner.

***

Leave it to Europe to make Acara feel better. It had only been a little over a year since her first time hopping the pond, and it was probably the best semester of her life. She loved the atmosphere, the people, the food, everything! Just walking around the shopping district cheered the feline up. It was a week and a half into the tour now, and she still couldn't believe she was back.

But that, of course, was only when she was outside. When Acara had nothing to distract her she was a mess. She still dealt with depression issues, but most of all she was angry. Really angry. After a show, or a day out, when the feline returned to her hotel room she would scream, curse, and throw things. Every day she had to see Trent. She avoided him, but still had to work with him. Every time she wanted to hurt him, kill him, do anything to make him feel pain. The need for revenge was burning up her insides. She had to do something, or one day she would do something she would really, really regret.

The tour, however, was going smoothly. The first show was in Madrid, Spain, and it went on with absolutely no problems. They went on to play in Barcelona, Paris, jumped up to the UK to play Edinburgh, then skipped over to Amsterdam which was quite an interesting experience for the intern. She never went there during her semester abroad, so she was jumping at the chance to explore every nook and cranny of the city. Alessandro watched over her like a hawk, worried that the feline might get herself in some sort of trouble. She probably would have too, if the panda didn't make sure she only had one 'special' brownie. The cat almost went into the absinthe bar, before remembering she didn't want to drink again. Ever.

They were currently in Frankfurt, with a day off before the show. Acara desperately wanted to go down to Freiburg, the place where she spent four months of her life. Mostly to visit the city, but also to put some miles between her and the canine. Ally figured a little trip would be fun so he surprised the calico cat with tickets for the ICE train. Acara was excited, but slightly annoyed. It seemed the Red Panda went with her everywhere, and while at first she didn't mind the company she could only take so much. The feline felt bad for thinking this way; after all he was worried about her. But she was an adult; she could take care of herself.

The two left for Freiburg early Friday morning. It wasn't too long of a trip, only 2 hours. The calico cat stared out the window the entire time, remembering things she had gone past from the year before. Just this alone was enough to distract her from being annoyed and angry. Ally stayed quiet the entire ride, he was in deep thought. 'Should I do this?' He sighed and glanced quickly at the feline. 'I don't know... I have all day, I'll figure it out.'

When the train reached its destination Acara put on a big smile. For once it wasn't faked. (She had a bad habit of faking being happy so no one would worry about her.) This was probably the most excited she'd been since their arrival in Europe. "C'mon Ally! I want to show you my old stomping grounds!" She grabbed hold of the panda's hand and dragged him off the ICE train.

It was a hot day in Freiburg, but then again in the summer it was always hot. The small city is known as "The Warmest City in Germany." Acara didn't doubt that for a second. The city was situated in the Black Forest; it was almost like in a valley which would explain the heat. Around the entire city one could see the foothills of the forest. In the center, like many other European cities, was a cathedral, and that was the first place Acara ran off to. There was always a farmers market going on there in the mornings, and the feline wanted a Bratwurst.

After the much needed sausage, Acara dragged Alessandro all over the city. They spent a few hours wondering around the shopping distract. The feline went into all the old stores she used to frequent. The entire time she told the panda stories about the places they visited, and he seemed rather interested. Ally was glad to see the calico cat genuinely happy. After their romp around the shopping district, the feline decided it was time for lunch. "You're going to love this place!" She smiled broadly. "It's a brewery, and it's amazing."

"Breweries are always the best here," Ally grinned back. Food was always his favorite part of visiting other places. But who could blame him, he's Italian.

The two got a seat outside, something Acara loved about Europe. She already knew what she wanted, but the panda took some time to look over the menu. He didn't know German, so he had to keep asking the feline what some of the things were.

"What's Schwinehoxe?" He asked, thinking the word sounded interesting.

"Only the best thing ever!" Acara grinned; it was obvious what she was getting. "Do you like pork?" Ally nodded. "Then get it, you'll love it."

The musician listened to her suggestion, and when the waiter came to the table that's what he ordered. Now he could relax a bit. "So what else do you have planned, Tour Guide Acara?" He said jokingly.

The feline grinned, "Did you see that big tower on the hill above the cathedral?" She cocked her head to the side when she spoke.

"Yeah, I think so, why?" Ally's eyes locked on Acara.

"We're going up there! Birds eye view of the city!" She seemed proud of this idea. It was a pretty tough hike, and she thought she was going to die the first time she did it, but it's worth it.

The panda smiled, "That sounds awesome!"

Acara nodded, "And then I want to take you to Crash. It's the goth/metal club I lived at every weekend. We can take the twelve o'clock train back to Frankfurt." The panda didn't seem to mind, he remembered her telling him about the club. It sounded like an interesting place.

After talking for a bit about random things, the food finally came out. Alessandro's eyes nearly popped out of his head when the plate was put down in front of him. There was a huge thing of meat covered in fat next to a huge pile of sauerkraut. It looked gross. What did he get himself in to? "What IS this?" He asked in a confused tone.

"Pork knuckle!" The calico cat purred. She already cut a piece off and had it shoved in her mouth. "Don't worry about how it looks, just try it!" She cut another piece of meat off, piled the pickled cabbage on it and slurped it down.

Ally hesitantly cut a piece of the pork and sighed, "Here I go." The panda closed his eyes and put the meat in his mouth. He chewed for a moment then his eyes went wide. He stared at Acara in amazement, causing the feline to giggle. "This..." He couldn't describe it well enough to do the food justice. "It's just... this is amazing!" The pork was very tender, and super juicy. It had a taste to it unlike any other pig he had ever eaten.

"I don't lie when it comes to this stuff!" The cat said triumphantly. Half of her food was gone already. "Oh man, its better then last time!"

Unlike the speed eating feline, the red panda took his time. He watched her with a big smile on his face, he was glad to see her like this. The musician had never really gotten to know the 'real' Acara. She always seemed rather down in spirits when she was around the band, that's probably what attracted him to her. Ally liked making others feel better. He let out a happy sigh as he took another bite from his plate, maybe everything would work out after all.

Once the food was gone, the two stayed and chatted at the restaurant for a bit. This was another thing Acara loved about Europe; they don't force you out when you're done. The waiter won't give you the check until you ask for it. The calico cat started to talk about the tour, and asked how she was doing. Ally told her the truth; she was damn good at what she does.

"No, really!" The panda frowned when the feline told him he was lying. "You're very understanding, and that's how a tour manager should be. You don't scoff at someone for a weird request; you go out and get it as fast as possible. You don't mess up when helping with the roadies, and if there's a problem you can think on your feet and quickly come up with a solution." He smiled and reached out to pat her on the head. "Really! You're good. I know Rob's impressed with you. You're awesome." This caused the intern to turn bright red; she wasn't used to compliments like this. Alessandro felt rather awkward himself, but for different reasons. After a short moment of neither of them saying anything, Ally got out of his seat and motioned at Acara. "Why don't you go show me that look out thing you were talking about?"

"Oh yeah!" The feline jumped out of her seat, "Good idea!" She was still blushing, so she quickly led the way to the base of the hill.

Acara was dying. She clutched on to the railing for dear life as she panted like a dog. "Out of shape! Out of shape!" She whined. Next to her, Alessandro stared out in amazement, barely sweating. "How..." She hissed breathlessly, "How could you make it up here... so... so damn easily?"

The panda laughed, "I'm used to stuff like this. Jeeze, you need to just sit down and rest for a minute!"

Acara shook her heard no. Once she managed to catch her breath she looked out over the city of Freiburg. It was always a pain to get up here, but she never regretted forcing her body to the extreme. "See, amazing right?" She wiped the sweat from her forehead and just stared down.

Ally nodded, the view was phenomenal. He could see the entire city of Freiburg, it looked like a little ant village from their height. The massive cathedral looked no bigger then the panda's fist. There were small hills that surrounded the city, and off in the distance other small villages could be seen. Behind them, the musician could see more of the Black Forest. "Wow."

The two stood in silence admiring the city. Acara had seen it a few times before, so she wasn't as awed as the keyboardist. Eventually she went to sit down on the steps to relax before the climb down. Alessandro didn't even realize she moved. His bushy tail twitched slightly as his mind raced. So many thoughts going though his head, it was hard to keep up with them. The panda was amazed at how something like this could just trigger ones mind. Finally, he took a deep breath. They were alone; he had to do this now. "Hey, Acara?" There was a tinge of nervousness in his voice. His tail twitched again as he laid eyes on the calico cat.

"Yeah, what's up?" The feline looked back at him. His entire demeanor seemed to change, which confused her.

"I've..." Ally paused. He was never this worried about doing something like this before. "I've been thinking about something lately." Acara cocked her head. "I don't know the best way to go about this." The feline suddenly thought that the panda was going to say something about Trent. Her paws suddenly clutched as the dog came to her mind. Instant anger. The panda saw this, which made him even tenser. He better just say it. "I really like you." 'Here I go,' he sighed to himself. "I, uh, wanted to know if maybe we can go out on a date or something." The way he spoke sounded so innocent, and his accent made it sounded even cuter.

Acara's paws immediately loosened as she looked up at Ally dumbfounded. She didn't know how to respond to that, it was the last thing she expected to hear. She was flattered that the panda liked her; it gave her butterflies in the pit of her stomach. The last thing she needed at the moment was a relationship. Her mind was racing as she just stared back at him dumbly. "I... Ally, I don't..."

The musician sighed and turned away to look back out over the tower. "Its ok," he said softly, "I know you're going though a lot. Sorry for putting..." He felt something grab his paw. Alessandro turned around and saw a smiling calico cat with big green eyes tugging at his arm.

"Let's go get some ice cream," the feline's tail wagged as she pulled him down the stairs.