"Is everyone ready?"
Lavender was bounding with excitement when she packed the spread of food she was helping me prepare into a picnic basket on the kitchen table.
"I'm still trying to find that damn sarong you wanted!" River huffed from her room "it's like a scarf but not?"
Lavender shook her head to me and giggled before heading off to help him.
Today was a perfect day.
The sun was basking over the grass and the white clouds formed the perfect cover in the bright sky.
Outside, parked up on the grass beside Lavender's party area, was the shining yellow Beetle she had finally found.
It had taken years to find one so pristine. In fact, she had already moved off her plates and onto a black license in the time it took to find it.
We were twenty-five now and ready to spread our own wings from the nest here. Today was another inspection of a house we were interested in. It was the furthest we had traveled from home and had everyone excited for the trip.
Of course, River and Darcy wanted to come too. It was going to be a tight squeeze with River there, but we had tested the seating arrangements and everyone fit in, despite River being hunched and crowding Darcy.
"This is a sarong" I heard Lavender tell River with a laugh that approached the kitchen.
"That's a goddamn food cover!" he cried back as he entered with Lavender "Teddy! You can see everything through that!"
"Obviously, she will be wearing something underneath" I rolled my eyes back at him and wrapped the sandwich I was cutting "you know everything about demons but nothing about human clothing."
"It's odd!" he threw his hands up as he pulled up a seat "you wear something see-through but put layers underneath so you aren't seen. What's the point?"
"It's called fashion, River" Mum chuckled as she leant against the wall and smiled at us "all ready for a big adventure? Dad's making sure the Beetle is all good for the drive."
"I can't wait! " Darcy smiled back and sat next to River "I've never been on a trip like this!"
"You haven't done a lot of things" River replied, playing with the top of his hair "but there is always a first for everything."
"Of course" Mum nodded.
We finished gathering everything together and packed it into the tiny boot of the Beetle. Dad emerged from the front, declaring it sound to drive the distance.
Lavender started it up and retracted the electric sunroof so River didn't have to hunch over. It was comical to see most of his body poking put the top of the car Darcy climbed into.
"Stay safe" Dad pulled Lavender into a tight hug then did the same for me "don't do anything reckless."
"We all know Darcy is the reckless one of us all" I jabbed back to hear him protest playfully.
"Just be good" Mum pinched my cheek and fussed over my short hair "and don't speed!"
"In this thing?" River scoffed now "you give it way too much credit!"
Mum and Dad still fretted over us as we joined River and Darcy. They kissed us on the cheeks before doing the same to Darcy and River who enjoyed the love being showered on them.
"I love you" Mum leant into the car "all of you."
"Mum" Lavender moaned back with a smile "we have to go."
"We're embarrassing her" Dad teased back and waved while we slowly backed down the grass to turn around "love you lots and lots!"
"Dad!" Lavender groaned to him out the window.
"Love you too, Mr Griffin!" River called out now cheekily and added in a wave as Lavender tried to get us out of there as quick as possible.
He was still screaming out his embarrassing declarations when Lavender quickly beeped the horn and took off.
"You are embarrassing!" she burned, gripping the wheel tighter.
"You love it" River smirked when I turned to look at him cup his hands over his mouth and call out "and I love you too, Daddy!"
We all burst into laughter at him. Lavender tried not to laugh so she wouldn't fuel his amusement.
"You know, none of them are looking right now" he leant back "you could really floor this thing."
I saw Lavender consider it. The road here was amongst bushland and barely got any traffic through. There was no police around for several hours since the small town near us didn't have any. The only thing we had was our nerves to contend with.
"Hold on!" Lavender whooped and immediently sped up.
Darcy cried out in fear while River threw his hands up in joy. I laughed with Lavender as we cruised amongst the serene sounds and scents of nature.
There was no other sound here other than us. It was peaceful and thrilling to have the road to ourselves for this limited time before we would hit civilisation again.
People were already gathered by the roadside when we pulled up into the car park opposite it. They were all chattering in their groups and held sheets of paper a woman passed out to them.
River and Darcy decided to unpack the car while we rushed over to join them.
Out of everyone here, I only saw one other demon. My appearance certaintly created a stir amongst the humans near us and instantly made me uncomfortable.
We were here for the home. No-one else was going to hang around for long. I could deal with a bit of discomfort for now.
"This is exciting" Lavender whispered to me and clung to my arm "look at how beautiful it is!"
"The stairs look like a pain" I pointed out.
"We knew about this when we saw the listing" she reminded me with a little nudge when the woman with the papers called for everyone to follow her up the stairs.
It was going to be a deal breaker for many. The stairs leading up to the house above were steep and winding. They climbed far too high up the side of the hill the house was nestled at the top of.
It was already proving too much for some who straggled behind.
"The view... will be... amazing" Lavender smiled from behind me "and we will... get so fit."
"Always with the... positives" I smirked back to her.
"There's an option... to buy it... outright" she wavered the papers at me that I took.
I jabbed my finger to the papers as we hit a landing.
"That's a lot of zeroes, Sprig."
She just smirked back and patted me on the back as she walked past.
I knew she had faith in me, but jeez.
I would have to cut down a hundred full fields to even rake in that sort of money they wanted.
It sent concern through me when I looked up at Lavender puffing out a huge breath and stretching her back at the top.
I wanted to provide something like this for her, but what could I do as just a flower cutter? I was sure no-one else would even want to look at me with a stain now on my name forever.
There was no escaping the Demon's Cradle, even when it was long gone.
Cold glasses of water were handed out as we shuffled through the rooms in the house with the other interested groups that had survived the haul up here.
The house itself had charm. It was decorated to have a rustic, beach vibe with its streaked sanded floors and beautiful weathered blue boards outside.
The selling point had to be the verandah overlooking the view of the park and the ocean it was nestled above. Sparkling blue waters stretched as far as the eye could see and bought with it fresh, salty seabreeze that Lavender inhaled deeply with a smile.
The shell wind-chime that hung from a support coming from the house clanked away to create its own melody that made her twine her arm in mine and point up at it excitedly.
I wanted to give her this. She looked so happy here already, and we hadn't even inspected the other rooms.
But the papers suddenly felt so heavy in my hand after seeing those numbers. It was the harsh reality of having a seaside dream.
We did our rounds of the house, taking in every corner and secret storage it had to offer. It even offered the tiniest of backyards; if you could call it that.
The patch of grass was only big enough for the tiny table and chairs to sit on. It had been fenced off behind it to hide away the jungle of trees bordering.
The fence could be knocked down to expand into the untouched patch of trees, for a price of course.
Ripping them out alone would cost a fortune.
We left with a little more of reality opening our eyes. Lavender lost some of her excitement when we walked back down the stairs, grateful for the easy descent. She still had her smile, but it was strained.
"You know, a little house in the woods sounds nice" I piped up to her to keep her mind open "with a nice fire to burn wood on and snuggle by."
"Snuggle?" she lifted a brow at me "somehow I don't see River or Darcy wanting to snuggle by a fire like you."
"I was thinking for you and me" I pushed back, slightly annoyed at her joking tone "River and Darcy will have thier own privacy. I want to have something with just you."
Lavender blushed and smiled at my offer of seclusion from the others. From what we had all been through, she probably had a million different thoughts running through her mind.
"Perhaps we should get a little house on a hill with lots of flowers" she offered after a moment of silence "so you can work on that shop you want to open."
I smiled at her and took her hand in mine when we finished the last few stairs.
"That sounds amazing."
"Its settled then" Lavender jumped from the last step and spun around to face me "a house with flowers."
"And less stairs" I chuckled back, kissing her on the nose before stepping down myself.
We found River and Darcy down by the cliffside on a striped red and white blanket. They had the food and drink spread out there, River dripping wet and boasting about his bravery.
I looked around, trying to find the slope down to the water. It was only the cliffside and the picnickers sprinkled along it. No-one had access to the crashing waters below safely.
River waved to us when we approached, and took off sprinting for the cliffside.
I rushed after him to stop him as he cheered out and went sailing over the side.
My heart was in my throat when we scrambled for the edge and looked down to find River.
He was laughing in the sloshing depths, hauling himself out to climb effortlessly up the cliff.
He had gained the attention of concerned people too. They all watched when he grappled up to our side again and Lavender quickly slapped him over the head before he could stand up.
"You can't be doing such reckless things!" she scolded him and grabbed his arm when he eyed the cliff side again "you can really hurt yourself."
River scoffed and gently picked Lavenders fingers from his dripping skin.
"I'm a demon. It'll take a little more than a steep ledge to hurt me."
Darcy sighed when River whooped and ran for the cliffside again to dive from it this time.
"Summon him back" I smirked to Darcy when we sat on the blanket with him.
I knew that would annoy River. Being pulled from the water unwillingly was really going to irritate him when he realised he wasn't going to be doing the things he wanted to so freely anymore.
Darcy looked to us then placed his hands on the blanket, unsure of what gesture to make.
"River" he spoke clearly.
Immediently, I saw the back of Darcy's shirt start bleeding. It stained through and ran onto the blanket he scurried from in freight, his hands gripping the grass behind him when he scuttled back.
River appeared behind him, looking just as confused as Darcy. He shook off the water from himself before seeing the blood running through the grass and dropping to his knees.
"Are you OK?"
Darcy smiled up at him and leant against River's body that curled behind him to support his weight.
"At least we know how that works" he chucked.
"Don't ever do it unless you really need me" River growled to Darcy. He cupped his head between his hands then leant down to gently kiss it.
"Did it affect you?" Lavender pointed to River's shoulders "the summoning left its mark on you."
"It's just water" he swiped at it, but it didn't leave "or maybe just seafoam."
But there was no seafoam. And the water still dripped from him, as clear as crystal.
These were white spots speckled across his shoulders. Some had even joined together to make patches.
"Spots" I breathed, pointing "you got them."
"Spots?" River groaned back and panicked when he tried to see the by spinning around and holding out his arms at odd angles "no! Damn it!"
He stopped his foot like a little child which made me laugh. Such an intimidating creature as he was shouldnt be acting in such a comedic way.
"What's it mean?" Lavender asked as River flopped down onto the blanket with us and held his head in his hands.
"He's stopped aging" Darcy whispered "when a demon gets thier spots, they remain like that until our souls return to the sky and take them with us."
"I was hoping it would be a few more years" River sobbed between his fingers he remained hidden behind "Teddy hasn't even got his yet and I wanted to have more time."
"More time?"
"Humans get old" Darcy shrugged "River has this thing that I will outgrow him. There's only so many years before it gets weird or illegal to be with someone so young."
River said nothing as he tried to silence his sobs. His shoulders shook when he kept his face hidden from us.
"You never know, I could get mine any day now. Maybe it might even be in the next year or so?" I added hopefully.
"D-don't wish t-that on yo-yourself" River grumbled out "g-give yourself at l-least ten more."
Darcy rubbed River's back to try and soothe him. Lavender held onto me while her hand was held onto by River's massive one that his thumb stroked over.
"We still have plenty of time" Lavender smiled at his hands "I'm not planning on getting old and wrinkly any time soon."
"And I'll never give up on you" Darcy added seriously.
"Staying twenty-one sounds good to me" Lavender tried to cheer him up.
River just let out a groan and stood up. He wiped his nose then looked to us all.
"I need some time" he mumbled then took a few steps before pausing to stare back at me.
"I've got to stretch my legs anyway" I said to Lavender and Darcy who understood and watched us leave.
River was withdrawn the whole time we walked further and further from the others. We found a walkway cut into the side of the cliff and followed it down to a secluded overlook. You could see where Lavender and Darcy were at the top in the distance.
"I don't know what I'm going to do" River mumbled, panic clearly in his voice "I can't get my spots; not yet, Teddy."
I twined my tail around his and leant against him when he covered his face again to cry.
"Is there something you didn't tell the others?" I pressed "you seem to be quite upset about staying young."
He nodded, sniffling.
"You want to talk about it?"
He nodded again, curling into me.
His huge frame still dwarfed me, and if the situation hadn't been so serious, it would have been funny.
But River was obviously in pain and wanted someone to vent to.
"So, what is it?" I whispered to him "you'll become super tall? You'll grow an extra arm each year until you join the spirits? Maybe wings?"
River chuckled at my attempts to lighten him up and peered up at me.
"It'll make it go faster" he said.
Faster? Did he mean his mutations?
"I'll turn into a beast. There's no going back. I was hoping to be clean before I got my spots, but..."
He trailed off and wrapped his arms around me to draw me close.
"I don't want to leave like this" he whimpered.
I rubbed his back and rested my head on his.
"You are going to make Darcy very happy, no matter what you look like" I smiled to him "you haven't scared him off yet, so why would you then?"
"But I want to keep you and Lavi safe too."
"And you don't think you've done that?" I frowned at him "you two have been the best things to happen to us. Lavender is happy again and we all are closer than ever before. It's good to have someone like me to count on, and good to see Lavi and Darcy getting along so well. You've done a good job, River, and you will keep doing a good job whether you are a demon or a beast."
His hands tightened around me but he moved his head up to my shoulder to rest it there now.
"Thanks, Teddy Bear" he smiled against me "I'll just have to be super careful about triggers from now on."
"What about the farm? I know you and Emery don't get along well."
I felt his tail tighten around mine as a growl escaped his lips.
"He was trying to keep his potential mate safe from everyone else. I get that; and I'll do the same with you, but I can't trust a demon who has held you down like that to the ground. If I risk it, then so be it. He's not laying a damn finger on you while I'm there."
"River" I warned him "settle. I can protect myself against him. I did the first time, remember?"
"And I'll make sure it's me for the last" he snapped out "I don't like the way he keeps checking where you are."
I giggled and lifted his head up to mine.
"I think he's checking where you are" I touched his nose cheekily "you are my shadow after all."
River smiled at this and I saw a plume of black smoke leave his mouth.
"You're mine" he wrapped his arms around me possessivly and nuzzled his head under my chin with a croon "all mine."
"River" I warned and pushed back on his horns tethering inches from my face.
"Ah, sorry" he mumbled and lifted his head from me "better?"
"Better" I nodded and turned to watch the crashing waves with him.
"What do you think happens when humans die?" River voiced now "humans like Granny?"
The question caught me by surprise and I tried to find an answer.
Where has this come from? Was he still pondering over his life with Darcy, now that it was balancing on a thread?
"I... I don't know. They join the spirits, I guess."
"But they have no-one to guide them there" he responded and looked at me "we come down here to help the humans. When they die, we guide them back to the spirits when we go with them. Do you think she'll get lost?"
"In that big, open field?" I laughed and shook my head "I think she knows where the sky is."
He smirked back but it dropped quickly from his face.
"Do you think we are reborn when we get there?" he asked "I don't think the spirits would be so kind to keep recycling the same old souls to send down each year."
His questions got me thinking about death as well. It was a heavy subject that didn't have a light tone about it.
"I'm not sure" I admitted "I like to think so. Maybe we can come back to help another human like Sprig or Darcy."
"But would we remember them?" River pondered "if we are recycled now, wouldn't we remember out last humans?"
"Not unless we are new souls" I replied with a reassuring smile "we are here for a reason. Mine is Sprig and yours is Darcy. We just got tangled up along the way."
River chucked now. It was a nice noise to hear coming from him.
"Do... you think it hurts?" he grimaced "when thier spirit tries to return? I know humans like to think they go peacefully in thier sleep. I don't know if that's true."
I pondered this too. Going peacefully in a sleep did sound comforting. Perhaps it's what they told each other so they weren't afraid to pass back into the sky.
Uncertainties bought out the worst fears in people.
"I think it will, in here" I grabbed where my soul light was "it'll be like losing a piece of yourself. I think it'll be the most painful thing ever to have to experience; emotionally rather than physically. I can't imagine what I'd do without Sprig if I didn't guide her back."
"So you do believe in rebirth?"
"It sounds like a good thing to believe in" I nodded as we stared up at the sky together "we have one life here, and we may get another chance to help someone else out."
River grimaced again.
"I only want to have my soul in Darcy" he mumbled.
"But you may find someone else who makes you feel like Darcy does" I smiled again "maybe another boy called..... Darwin. And you'll protect him from hard things like homework and what to wear."
"Darwin?" River scoffed and laughed "and that'll be the worst thing I'll have to deal with? That would be nice" he leant back and sighed "the worst thing will be us getting caught in the rain. Maybe he'll catch a cold; but his mum will never beat him over it. She'll smile and maybe laugh. And they drink hot chocolate when it gets cold, with little marshmellows in the cups."
I beamed at River's imagination and felt my heart jolt when he turned to me.
"And you'll meet a girl named....Dandelion" he nodded, pointing to me "what do you think she'll be like?"
"She'll always be happy; maybe a bit oblivious to everything bad around her" I looked out over the water "and she loves to dance but she's clumsy and has to use my feet to guide her. She loves painting but doesn't think she's artistic enough. And the worst thing she'll hurt me with is when she accidentally drinks the paint water instead of her tea. Who knows?" I shrugged and laughed with him "she could be called Cockscomb for all we know."
River hunched as he laughed loudly. He wiped his eyes and smiled at me.
"Well, here's to Darwin and Dandelion then" he grabbed my hand in his.
"To Darwin and Dandelion" I smiled back "wherever and whenever they may be."
River nodded, his tense posture finally relaxing.
"Thanks, Teddy Bear. I think it's going to be alright."
I relaxed with him and savored the feeling of the sunlight on my face and the salty breeze that came with it.
"I think it will be."
ns 18.68.41.146da2
