When morning rose, so did the heartfelt goodbyes.
Sage's last breakfast was with her family, who all filled their bowls from a pot of porridge on the stove, topped with thick honey and juicy berries.
The warmth seeped through my stomach to radiate somewhere in my chest at the delicious meal. I wasn't even thinking about how messy I was being as I tipped it back and licked the bowl clean.
After stuffing her face and then having her messy cheeks wiped by a wet facecloth, Lacie bent down to clean mine too lovingly. She even giggled at a stubborn stain on my upper cheek she rubbed away.
After taking my bowl and glancing back as she went to the sink to wash off the cloth, Elijah pulled out a seat for Lacie so he could hand her something that rippled between his fingers.
He lifted Sage up into her mother's lap and rubbed the top of her head affectionately.
"I made this for you last night" Lacie spoke as she produced a silky red and white spotted bandana "it's big enough to go around the back of your shoulders too to keep the sun off them."
Showing her daughter, Lacie's eyes met mine peering at the gift critically.
"You said she couldn't take anything, but this won't get in the way."
Tying it, Sage slipped down to give a little twirl, grinning.
"I love it!" she declared as she leapt up against her mother who lowered her head with a sad smile.
"It's got our phone number on the inside" Lacie reached over to tug at the tiny hidden zipper and reveal the marked numbers inside the fabric "that way you can tell us all about your adventures, wherever you are."
"No putting bugs or lizards in there either" Elijah added with a smile of his own.
Sage pouted back while Lacie zipped up the bandana and planted her hands on her daughter's shoulders to make sure she was focused on her.
"Soup is going to be there to look after you. Make sure you do as he says and don't cause trouble."
"He's a good teacher" Elijah added warmly with a grin in my direction "he'll make sure you stay safe out there."
Sage looked to me now, her lips parting into that gap-toothed smile.
I returned it, brimming with joy inside at how much faith they all had in me.
"You won't be gone too long, will you?" Jay frowned from up at the table.
He knelt on his chair so he could face me and lay his arms along the top as comfort for his head that rested on them.
Sage shook her head, ecstatic that we were so close to embarking on our adventure away from home.
"There's a lot out there" I spoke up now "it might be a little before we come back."
Jay sighed, suddenly perking up.
"Does that mean I can have your things?" he gasped in excitement "can I have her room too?"
"No!" Sage huffed "I'll know if you touch my things!"
"You best go up and sort it out before you leave" Lacie tilted her head to the stairs.
Sage raced for them. Jay watched her storm up them and scoffed down his breakfast so he could follow her.
It was just us and Quincy left, who fed himself with his little spoon happily.
"Children" Elijah shook his head with a smile as sounds of protest rose up "it's going to be a lot quieter without Sage running around the house."
Lacie choked out a little sob and covered her mouth, shaking her head when Elijah went to comfort her.
"She'll be ok" I came over to her side and placed a hand on her knee "she's a handful, but I've had practice, remember?"
Lacie tried to smile back at me and nodded.
"I'll keep her out of trouble and teach her a few things along the way. We'll be home before you know it."
"Thank you for doing this, Soup" Elijah smiled through his own glistening tears "honestly, there's no-one else I'd rather show the world to our daughter."
"And show her... how to live like she wants" Lacie added with a wipe of her eyes "it's not an easy life."
"It isn't" I agreed instantly "but she can make that decision when she sees it for herself."
Both parents nodded knowingly and gazed at each other.
"It'll be fine" I soothed.
"We know" Elijah spoke up "it's just.... hard to see your children go."
I couldn't relate to the feeling, but knew how much it tugged at my heart when the ones I cared for so dearly left me too.
"I think we should be off."
Both of them nodded and lifted their heads to the stairs as the thundering and fighting from above rolled back down into the room.
Sage and Jay were in their beastly forms, snapping and tugging at each other's long tails. Sage was easily recognisable from the red bandana flapping over her shoulders.
Sage pinned Jay to the floor and snapped at his ears, licking the side of one noisily to annoy him.
He cried out and wiggled free, crying out for his mother when she forced him on the ground again and pretended to eat along his face.
"Sage" Lacie snorted out "your brother does need to breathe."
She groaned back and climbed off, instantly being set on by Jay.
Quincy giggled along from his highchair as he watched them tumble around the open lounge room.
Moving from Lacie, I decided to step in.
They obviously weren't listening to their parents, and I didn't have the patience to wait for them to finish their bickering to actually make it out the door.
"Sage" I huffed to the child tugging on Jay's tail "get up. We've got to get going before we lose all of our daylight."
"But, I'm winning..."
I turned my head to Jay who promptly spun around to crush Sage to the floor.
Lowering my head beside her grunting one, I gave her a smug smile.
"Obviously."
"You'll....see...."
"Maybe another time. Come on."
Grabbing onto Jay's nape, I lifted him upwards and placed him down beside me. With Sage free, I lifted her up in the same fashion to place her on her feet right in front so I could nudge her towards her parents.
Jay looked confused on being handled like a baby. He just sat there, frowning at me as he tried to process what just happened.
Sage wasn't much different. Looking back at me, her head tracked me passing her.
My tail pushed against her head to get her to focus on her parents and amused younger brother to give them their farewells.
"Is he always that demanding?" I heard her whisper on my way out the front door.
I smiled to myself when I heard a chuckled response, continuing onwards.
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The warm sunshine basked over my back, cooled momentarily when I passed beneath the growth of the tree planted in the corner of the fenceline that shaded the vegetables to my left.
Lifting up to unlatch the fence, I waited outside it for Sage.
The area here really was quite calming.
Wind rippled over the grassy fields swaying with all sorts of colours.
A few trees were scattered within it to provide more patches of shade.
To my far left was a shaded forest where the spirits had passed through last night. I noticed a small, speckled path had been cut into the grass in the exact way they had followed each other towards it.
A gravel road led from the gate to snake its way down along to the right.
I saw in that distance there was the familiar glint of the train tracks laying on its gravel bed. The road ran alongside it up to another lining of forestry that it passed through the middle of, leading back towards the town I had been resting in before fate led me here.
It all looked so picturesque. I could hear the birds calling to each other and see the bees dancing amongst the flowers bending their heads for them. Behind me, the wind-chime sang out with the rustling leaves.
Breathing in the fresh air passing through them, I closed my eyes to savour the moment of peace.
Everything was warm and soothing. It was easy to lose time in a place so beautiful.
I only opened my eyes again when I felt Sage come and sit beside me to survey the fields around her home.
Her tail curved towards me for comfort.
It was a big decision to leave her family, one that left her torn now that it all has become so real.
Looking up at me, I gave her a comforting smile before her eyes slid to somewhere past me.
Turning, Lacie stood there with Elijah. Quincy held onto the side of her leg while Jay lingered near his father.
Sage let out a little sob as she leapt back against them to be wrapped in their arms. Looking up at them, Elijah's hand ran over her head softly before he wiped away her brimming tears.
Pulling from them, she grabbed Quincy to rest her head on his and plant kisses on his giggling face.
Next, she faced Jay. They stood there, eyeing each other for a moment, until Jay spread his arms and Sage threw herself up into them to almost knock him down.
With their tight embrace, Lacie, Elijah and Quincy were around me to wish me well and exchange hugs that I lifted myself up into.
Quincy's little hands found my ears to grab at them again in interest.
Smiling back, tears threatened to blind my own sight when I saw how much they truly cared about me.
Wiping their tears, they tried not to let the sadness get the better of them.
Sage finally broke from her brother who rubbed a hand roughly across the top of her head with a cheeky smile. His tearful eyes threatened to spill as Sage grinned back.
My ear turned as it sensed a change in the wind that startled the birds. With it, I heard the quiet squeal of a train whistle.
If we wanted to cover as much land as possible before night, we had to catch that train.
Nudging Sage again, I turned my head towards the forestry tunnel it was peeling from.
This one was an older model, still running for scenic trips across the countryside.
People's featureless faces peered out of the windows lining the vehicle. On the front and back of each carriage were small railed platforms others soaked up the sunshine and breeze on.
It's bright red paint and black trimmings made it easy to spot against the greens and browns of the grasslands surrounding it.
Steam billowed out of the top, fluttering to disappear amongst the clouds above.
The whistle shrieked again and arms raised to wave over towards us.
Lacie and Elijah returned the gesture with a smile, lifting up Quincy so he could see and give his own enthusiastic welcome.
Taking one last look at the family, I smiled up at them thankfully. Lacie peered down at us, gesturing for us to go.
With a little laugh, Sage took off. I chased after her, pausing only to look back and see them still watching on.
Bolting after Sage, she matched my speed. Side by side we ran across the grasslands to try and cut off the train still steadily keeping momentum.
Flowers and grass swamped our bodies pounding through them. Our own trail was cut into it on our race for relief.
As the people on the train grew closer, I could see their features pull into ones of excitement and enthusiastic cheering.
Some hung out the windows to cheer us on while others crowded on the small platforms to offer their own encouragement.
The people shrieked with joy when the whistle did, waving and calling when we leapt onto the tracks to thunder after the train.
Sage was determined to keep up. With the slower pace of this scenic train, it was much easier to tail than the more modern one that used to take Missy to the big city.
She huffed and panted, but didn't dare falter. I kept close behind to make sure I was there to catch her if she did.
Her bandana slapped her shoulders as they rolled in rhythm to speed along. Her body moved together as one in an ingrained routine, as if she had done this before.
I saw people part when the conductor wedged his way through to the railing with his ticket puncher swaying from the front of his neat blue and black uniform.
Seeing all the commotion was about us, he blinked down in surprise at seeing such unusual creatures trying to keep up.
With the passengers swarmed around him and begging him to let us board, he huffed and tried to ignore the pleas.
Finally, he caved to the chorus and ushered everyone back so that there was enough room for us to climb aboard.
"You good?" I called to Sage who turned her head and nodded.
"Good. I'm going to throw you up there."
"What?" she gasped back.
Pushing myself, I powered up beside her to snatch up her nape in my mouth. In surprise and caught off-guard, Sage splayed her arms and legs out before tucking them in like a kitten.
Even her tail curled up the front of her body to stop it being snagged under my claws.
"Come on! You can do it!" one woman roared from around the conductor.
"Just a little closer!" another lifted their head around his shoulder.
Pushing, the group was back to offer their hands. Kneeling in their glamorous vintage dresses, the women down the front were able to stretch further through the bars, to the worry of the conductor who blustered about safety.
Men unbuttoned their vests so they had the freedom to maneuver beside the women and squeeze their own arms between the bars, palms open.
Seeing and hearing them calling desperately for us, I was renewed with strength.
Pushing my burning muscles further than they ever had moved in years, I closed in on the platform.
The cheering intensified and the multitude of hands opened and closed to try and urge me closer.
Grunting, I pushed again, gaining on them. There was only a breath of distance between us now.
I could see the excited faces light up at their close victory and smell the sweet fruity and floral perfumes soaked into the skins of the eager helpers.
Still, it was just a little too far.
"We need something long! Something to hold out!" one called from the back as I tried to keep the ridiculous pace.
I could feel my legs coiling in overuse. They faltered for a moment before I was able to catch up again.
It was further than we had been before. I was losing energy.
"Here!"
A lacey yellow parasol was lifted over the heads of the group like a martyr.
A woman down the front grabbed it and slipped it through the bars to hold out towards us.
Kneeling, the white petticoat underneath her checkered blue and white dress ruffled in the wind, which another noticed and squashed down for her. Her curled brown ringlets blew out around her pale face while her painted pink lips grimaced as she tried desperately to help.
Seeing that kneeling was not working, she switched to sitting instead. Ignoring the cries of her concerned peers, her shoes slipped through the bars so she could press right against them with the parasol.
Instead of focusing on their own missions to help us, the men and women moved to her to help anchor her.
Hands wrapped around the parasol with her to stop it from tilting when the extra weight was going to be added to the other end. Others held onto the woman herself so her face wouldn't be crushed against the bars.
"Ready?" she called to us.
I nodded back once, pulling all of my focus on the little lemon-shaped parasol tip dangling before us.
"One....!" the crowd sang.
Two.....
"Three!" the woman shouted.
Powering up to close the distance, Sage reached for the parasol. Snagging her claws across it, she didn't get a proper grip.
Seeing the distance climbing, I shoved upwards again for the claws to snatch once more.
They swiped a few times, missing, until she finally clapped the lace between her hands and pulled it towards her.
"I've got it!" Sage gasped.
Releasing her nape, she yelled out from the shock of not being supported. Holding on desperately, Sage raked her claws up the parasol to feed more through her arms so she could dangle off the side.
"Pull! Pull!" the crowd cheered.
"Keep holding on, kid!" I encouraged her.
Her legs dangled, trying to kick out and swing her body onto the parasol completely. Her tail looped on it, as if she felt it gave her more stability.
Slowly, I saw Sage's body jerk as she was dragged closer to the bars. Whimpering, she desperately clung on while the others were careful not to move too quickly and send her falling onto the tracks.
The anticipation was gut-wrenching. But, after careful threading of the shredded parasol, she was finally close enough for the swarm of hands to grab onto her and help lift her up the other side of the bars to where the conductor swaddled her in his hands.
Now that Sage was safely on board, relief flooded through me. The distance climbed again now that i saw Sage was safe.
"Soup!" she shouted for me, leaning over the conductors arms "you can do it!"
The parasol was reeled in now that it was obvious it would never support me. This part was up to me to achieve alone.
"COME ON, SOUP!" Sage cried out when the train slipped a little further away.
My mouth was on fire from the hot breath that sawed through it. My hands and feet stabbed from the gravel that had been flicked up from between the wooden boards and into my path.
"We can't give up on it!" a man scowled in determination.
"It must be it's mother! We can't separate them!" a woman gasped.
The woman in the checkered dress who had helped us earlier drew herself up so she could clutch onto the rails and draw in a deep breath.
"YOU CAN DO IT, MAMA!"
Instantly, the determination on my face slipped into disgruntlement.
Sage laughed at the woman and then at me when she saw my expression.
"COME ON, MAMA!" she called out, laughing more.
They all cheered me on wholeheartedly, including Sage. Even if she was laughing through hers, she truly didn't want me to fade into the distance.
I wouldn't. I wasn't making the same mistake twice.
I could do this!
"You can do it, Mama!"
"Come on!"
"A little further!"
Come on, Soup! They're all here for you!
Grunting and huffing, I shoved through the agony threatening to cripple me. The train was right there. If I missed, there would be no recovering in time to reach Sage again.
I had to get closer before I made the jump. It was just a little too far.
The cheering drilled down my ears with the wind pulling off the train and the chuffing of the wheels on the rails.
No hands were offered for me. Seeing how long and sharp my claws were, I didn't blame them. They'd end up worse than that parasol.
My back legs started to tense. If I was going to jump, it has to be now.
The cheers turned to enthusiastic screams as I forced all my energy up into a determined yell before I made the leap.
For a moment there, my heart clenched as I thought I had underestimated the distance.
The wind wrapped around my belly and rushed under my stretched claws.
For a moment, the cold bars didn't even feel real. It was almost like I was slipping right by them...
Snatching on desperately, the crowd squealed in celebration and moved back for me when I heaved my arms up to get most of my body weight supported across the top.
Sliding my feet up the bars, I tumbled over and gasped out gratefully when the floor slammed into my ribs.
Chuckling at how lucky I had been, I watched the rails and sweeping landscape passing by as the air licked at my pulsing, painful hands and feet.
"Soup!" I heard Sage call out before she was poking her face into view of mine "you made it!"
"I....did..." I grinned back.
I felt her feet climb up over me and groaned out at her little nails digging in.
"You did good....Mama."
She grinned and I returned it, rolling my eyes back at her.
I saw her little red ones look me over until they paused at my hands. Her face frowned and she peered at me in concern.
"Are you in pain?"
They must have been worse than I thought. The pulsing really was drilling right through my thick skin.
"I'm fine" I brushed it off as I tried to catch my breath again "really."
Laying my head down on the cold floor, it caressed my boiling body.
Sage sat by my side so she could watch the surroundings roll by. I did the same, grateful I was here to enjoy it with her.
Moving a hand towards her, I noticed the bottom of it was torn up from the rocks piercing through it. Smeared red, it stained my white skin with its vibrant colour.
I mustered up the strength to sit beside Sage. I promptly pressed both hands and feet to the floor so Sage didn't have to be concerned with the injuries.
We both turned to see how far we had come from the grass fields around her home. Steadily, everything familiar was being speckled with the colourful unknown.
It was starting to scare me a little at how real this all was.
My tail wrapped around Sage to make sure she was safe. Mostly, it was to comfort myself.
She noticed and leant against me. Her body was freezing from the wind and fear that must have been shaking her when she had been dangling so dangerously close to the tracks.
"Let's never do that again" she voiced before giving a little sympathetic smile up at me.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WkSFs8GVw
I chuckled and nudged her gently to make her giggle.
"Never again, Little One."
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