There was unease in the air when I was woken to the sound of a knife cutting into wood.
Missy took the time to carve up the huge slab of meat in the kitchen under the bright morning light, gently washing and shaking off the vegetables she placed on the bench beside her.
She took her time with the process. Love and care went into this meal now that there was more valuable items involved.
She didn't want to waste a scrap, and I couldn't blame her.
Missy had already gone out to pluck up the last of her vegetables in the garden to prepare for the massive pot she heaved up and steadily filled with water.
I hauled myself to the kitchen counter to watch Missy as she hummed along and massaged added mixed seasoning over each meat cube that was dropped into the pot.
I didn't know Stew had woken too until she pulled herself up beside me, her tail slapping into me at the sight of so much food before her.
"How about we beat Missy for once?" I tilted my head to the door with a grin "get to the station before she even leaves the house?"
Stew instantly abandoned the bench to scamper out the door in excitement.
Missy turned her head at the sound and smiled as she returned to the chopping board.
Pushing through the tall grass, we left the house behind us.
Stew pranced alongside me, eagerly snuffling for the crickets she heard and snapping for the birds who took flight long before she could sprint to them.
"I'm going to catch something so big that we'll have to get a whole other pot to put it in!" she exclaimed from ahead.
"And what would that be?" I scoffed.
She pounced in the grass, checking her empty hands with a disappointed groan as I walked past.
"I don't know. You're just scaring everything off" she trotted up beside me "with your loud mouth."
"Sure...." I shook my head at her before she raced ahead to try and snag a rabbit that bolted away.
Stew gave chase for a little, zigzagging in the grass until it sped off and she circled back to my side, glancing back to the house in the distance.
When she saw Missy still hadn't left, she bounced ahead and snapping at the crickets, straying further.
I bumped into Stew to make her laugh.
She waited for me to pass before trying to bite the tip of my tail I simply flicked out of her way.
Stew cried out when she went to pounce on my tail again, landing in the grass when I flicked it out of the way once more.
"Stop moving so much!" she grunted when I dodged another lunge.
"Stop being so slow!" I jeered back before picking up the pace to jump to the side.
Stew laughed as she tried to swipe at me now, falling into the grass on her more ambitious attempts. She had me circling and scurrying all around the field to avoid her until I took off with her close behind.
I deliberately held back so I wouldn't sprint too far ahead. With the edge of town nearing, I couldn't be leaving Stew alone.
Bartie sat in his usual spot when we pranced into view. I saw Stew's ears flick up at the new thrill planted before her. Her backside wiggling as she lowered down and stalked forward.
I walked beside her to push her down as she started to rush her advancements.
"Down low" I told her as I pushed to the ground to demonstrate "and in small bursts. When he looks, you stop. You don't want to scare him off."
Creeping forward, Bartie looked over his paper to us, tutting.
"What are you doing, Soup?"
"Keep steady" I told Stew without breaking contact with Bartie "you have to be patient."
Bartie dismissed us and returned to the paper. I advanced, hearing Stew do the same before Bartie checked again.
"Now, don't go teaching her bad habits, Soup" Bartie wagged a finger at me.
He didn't pull his focus from me. His head turned back to the paper, but his eyes watched me stare him down.
After a few moments, Bartie sighed and folded his paper down.
"Now!" I shouted.
Stew sped over to Bartie to throw herself at his shoes that she pounced on, rolling over to kick the sides and bite on the laces.
Bartie laughed and lifted a leg to have Stew dangle from his shoe, gnawing the sole.
"I think it's dead, Little One" he shook her lightly.
Stew moved to the back to tug down and give her some leniency. With the shoe loose, Stew yanked it off and held it in her mouth proudly while Bartie was left with only a green sock.
"You cheeky thing!" he exclaimed, snatching for the shoe that Stew still held proudly as she darted out of the way "Hey!"
Bartie kept his exposed sock off the ground, hopping towards Stew who easily dodged Bartie to weave around to the place he had been sitting.
She laughed, finally dropping the shoe to exchange for the folded newspaper when Bartie sighed out helplessly.
"I'm not as spry as I used to be" he grumbled as he slipped the shoe back on "bad habits, Soup" he aimed at me while doing up the laces.
Stew giggled with the newspaper flapping in her mouth. Seeing Bartie couldn't keep up, she dropped it down for him to snatch up.
Snorting and laughing, we darted from his hand shaking the rolled newspaper at us to head to the other side of the station where we could watch Missy's speck of her scooter rolling through the grass.
The train peeked the corner, blowing it's horn to warn Missy of its appearance.
Side by side they rode, Missy's features slowly painting onto her figure the closer she got to us.
"GO MA!" Stew cheered "YOU CAN DO IT!"
Missy grinned behind her helmet as she spotted us already waiting for her. Stew jumped about and gasped out in awe as Missy recklessly dodged disaster by racing across the tracks as the train was slowing to a stop.
Missy gasped out as she pulled off her helmet and unlatched the box. Running her hand along both our heads, she rushed for the opening doors that only let out three people.
"Missy, one of these days...." Alfie leant out and tutted at her.
"Sorry!" she sunk behind her box "I'll try to be earlier next time!"
Alfie shook his head at her before letting her pass.
We watched her find a spot beside the window again so she could see us.
Instead of lingering, I pushed Stew towards the edge of the platform to patiently wait.
"You want to race it again today?" I nudged her side "we can chase it further."
"Than here?" she looked up to me in confusion "but... we never leave the station."
She was hesitant but I could see the bottled excitement behind her worry.
She wanted to go further. I wanted her to give into that feeling and push herself.
If the train was going to take Missy away, then we would make sure we could keep up with it.
We weren't going to be left behind. Somehow, we'd find a way to make things work, even if we couldn't be as close as we wanted.
Stew grinned and nodded, her tail whacking the ground again in delight.
"You ready?" I breathed as Alfie checked the platform and sounded the scream of the whistle.
Stew jittered, nodding.
The doors were slammed shut and the train started to inch away after replying to the call.
"Keep your eye on it" I instructed Stew who had her nails wrapped around the platform in anticipation "think of it as the biggest and fastest rabbit you've ever seen."
Stew giggled at me, breaking her focus.
"Ready?"
The train started to gain momentum. The carriages were still rolling by beside us.
A flash of orange hair passed. That was our signal to start the chase.
"Go!"
Leaping off the platform and onto the tracks as the last carriage rolled by, I took the lead. Stew clambered down the side to sprint after me.
She was actually keeping up for now but was burning far too much energy. Her little legs were powering on furiously while mine stretched forth effortlessly.
"Longer steps!" I called back to her "don't burn yourself out!"
She kept up the same insane pace, splitting from me when the train broke over the bridge and continued onwards through the flat plains.
I took the right while she ducked to the left. She kept her body low while she darted for the train.
The back of the train bobbed before us, teasing success. Stew huffed and grunted as she pushed herself further to try and pull up at the side.
I pushed forth, slowing for Stew who was still glaring at the back carriage. The train glided onwards to get further away.
Stew couldn't keep up. She gasped out as her legs refused to work anymore. Slowing to a walk, I pushed back to her side as she bitterly watched the train speed away.
"I.... couldn't.....keep.....up" she gasped out.
"Look at it this way, it's further than we've been" I turned back to see her do the same "we can try again next time."
I couldn't even see the bridge anymore. It was just us, the tracks, and the fields around us. It was peaceful out here in unmarked wilderness. I could hear the birds flitting between the trees and the distant bellows of cattle to thier calves.
The stars would look incredible in unpolluted skies too. We'd have to come and see them one day.
Stew was still too exhausted to say anything. Her focus was solely on her feet she forced over to the softer grass.
"Carry me?" she groaned out when I started to walk back.
Scoffing, I took a few more steps to see her struggle behind. Lowering down, she flopped over my shoulders gratefully. I could feel her heart hammering on my skin and every shallow breath she took to try and fill her shaking lungs.
"Only until you can walk again, okay?"
"Okay."
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Carrying Stew became a new task for me.
Each day that Missy went to the big city, we would follow. With no news on whether she had made up her mind yet, we were running quite literally on borrowed time.
We got a little further each day. The walk back was longer and more grueling with the extra weight I had to heave with me, but it was only momentarily. Usually when we reached the bridge again, Stew slipped off to finally walk beside me.
Day by day we pushed ourselves after that train, and week by week we walked home knowing we were able to cover the distance we needed to.
I was confident that we would be able to keep going now that Stew was taking longer to exhaust. She practised her long strides around the house to Missy's amusement, and treated the rooms as her personal racetrack when her bursts of energy called for it.
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When we weren't chasing the train, I was taking the time to teach Stew to hunt. It was only on our travel back home, but it was time desperately needed to hone her skills.
She needed to be able to provide for herself if we did need to rough it. Even if we didn't, having her heightened to her senses would make her more aware of her surroundings.
The day she managed to snap up a single bird out of a fleeing flock was when I knew she was ready to step up in her catches.
After carrying the screaming and flapping thing by its wing all the way home, Stew proudly released it in the house to show Missy her accomplishments. Unfortunately, this also meant that the panicked creature sped around the house while still calling for it's flock, hitting walls and scrambling off the top the fireplace until Missy threw open the front door for it to take flight back into the open skies.
Stew, having missed out on her first earned meal, turned to a bowl of soup instead. 131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZn58TbENBI
