Rick threw the rest of the corn into the mill, using too much strength in the process. Most of the corn overshot the mill and landed straight into the chicken coop. The chickens attacked them mercilessly.
"Stop that!" He barked angrily. He stomped around the chickens and piled up what was left of the corn into his arms.
Rick nearly jumped out of his skin at the rustling sound behind him. He turned. Popuri stood, her arms crossed, against the mill.
"The chickens don't understand that you're mad at Brigget, Rick." She sneered.
"Yeah, well, for all we know, they could." He growled. He chunked the remaining corn carefully into the mill and picked up the broom next to it, determined to finish his work.
"Mom said we don't have to work today." Popuri pointed out.
"I don't care. I'm working anyway." He snapped, not turning to regard her.
"There's a reason why you can't get her out of your head, Rick." Popuri insisted. He rolled his eyes, scoffing. "I won't say it, but you should know what it is."
"Oh, come off it!" Rick threw the broom across their property, making Popuri jump. He glared daggers at her. "I don't. I don't—don't—like her. Not in the slightest. Not even a bit. Not at all. I don't, I don't, I don't!" He stamped his foot into the ground, grinding stray corn kernels into the dirt.
"Your temper tells me otherwise." Popuri smirked knowingly. "I think you're mad at her because she didn't tell you about herself."
"She could have—should have—told me about her 'heritage'. She should have come right out and—"
"And what, Rick? What would you honestly have done? What if Brigget had come up to you when you first met her and said, 'hey, sorry to bother you, but I'm a Wolvite and I'd love a place to stay for the night. Do you people have an inn? Don't worry about yourselves, no one will come and attack you because I live here now.'" Popuri threw her arms in the air. "What honestly would you have done? Everyone knows you would have laughed your head off like it was some joke! This isn't a joke to her, Rick. And it's not one to us anymore."
"She gave me her bargaining chip without telling me it—" Rick was interrupted again by an angry sister.
"Do you know how hard it is for a girl to give a guy something? Especially something of value? Even for regular humans, we have trouble getting through it. But that thing controls her every move. Rick, if you told her to stay, she'd stay. If you told her to run in circles, she'd have to until you tell her otherwise. You don't realize how terrifying that must have been to give that up. What if she had misjudged you, and you were just as power-hungry as the one who nearly took over the Wolvites? She'd be in deep trouble."
"Yeah, it's always about her." Rick snarled. Popuri slapped him.
Shock rushed through Rick's veins, followed closely by anger. His eyes widened as he stared at his sister, who had a set look on her face.
"If it was all about her, she'd have gone screaming from her farm the moment she figured out Tanya was attacking someone, trying to find her. If it was all about her, she wouldn't have fought down her old best friend to get her away from the town." His sister's temper was rising, and she was at the shouting point now. "If it was all about her, she would have taken our invitation and she wouldn't be—" Popuri stopped herself. Rick raised an eyebrow.
"Wouldn't be what?" He asked.
"Nothing." Popuri's temper receded. "It's nothing." She turned to go back into their home. At the entrance she stopped and turned back to her brother. "I'll just say one thing, and then I'm putting my walking shoes on and I'm going to Eli's. Here it is: Just because you think Brigget's doing something, doesn't mean she isn't doing something else."
With that, Popuri left Rick outside.
What was that about? That last part had nothing to do with their previous conversation. Thoroughly confused, Rick shrugged and headed toward the house.
-----
"And.… here is Kaiser."
"You keep him."
"What? But he's yours."
"He's yours. Look at the little boy. He's happy as a bug in a rug."
"Are you sure?"
"He may be small now, but you've got a long way to go if you actually plan on doing this. You'll need an extra pair of legs when the going gets tough."
"Well, thanks, Barley."
"Anytime."
"Anyway, here's Sigil, and the egg she made this morning."
"Keep the egg. I'll go get May."
"Yes, Grandpa?"
"Remember what we talked about?"
"With Top-Hat Thomas? 'Course I 'member!"
"Well, Brigget wants to give you her chicken."
"Really?"
"Of course I do! You're a bright little girl, and my chicken needs special care. Can I count on you to give it?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Then here you go. Her name is Sigil. She lays eggs once a day and likes to be outside."
"Even in winter?"
"Even in winter."
"How cool!"
"Thank you, Brigget."
"Anytime."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Actually, yes."
"What?"
"Don't tell Rick."
Pause.
"You mean he doesn't know?"
"Afraid not."
"Why doesn't he?"
"He'll try to stop me. It'll be best if I can get out without him knowing."
"You're going to make him angrier."
"I'll make him safer."
"It's your judgment. I'll do nothing against it. Neither will May."
"Nope!"
"Thanks. I'll see you guys…."
-----
Mary sighed, closing her book as the library door opened and an angry Gray stomped in.
"What's wrong?" She asked. He growled.
"My grandpa is going nuts." He leaned against the door and sank onto the floor. "Three guesses about whom."
"The same person everyone's going nuts over?"
"Yes." Gray stomped on the ground. "She's just up and leaving! It's making Grandpa go crazy. He keeps throwing his pliers and mumbling things to himself. Every now and then he'll start asking me stuff, like it's my fault she's leaving. Once he even said something like, 'if only I'd taken her' and left abruptly." He shook his head.
"Well, I don't know a lot about Brigget…." Mary started. "Not as much as a lot of people in this town do, anyway. But she doesn't seem like the type who would leave without a reason."
"Of course there's a reason! She's trying to keep us all safe!" Gray said. "And I don't know why I'm the only one who understands this. I want her to stay too, of course, but if she's going to put the town in danger, she has no reason to stay."
"But if the town has said that she can stay, she can stay." Mary insisted. "Besides, Rick can—"
"Rick doesn't know." Gray stood. "That's the problem."
"What?" Mary rose so fast, she knocked her seat over. "How can he not know?"
"Brigget asked us not to tell him. She said it would be easier for her to leave." Gray clarified.
"But, he's crazy for her! There's no way…. She can't…." Mary frowned. "How is it that the closest person to her in the town doesn't know, but the farthest one from her does?"
"You mean Karen?" Gray asked. "Karen is totally for her leaving. There's no way she would even think of telling Rick." Mary rubbed her chin.
"But, if she did that… that would mean…." Suddenly, so abruptly that it made Gray jump, Mary grinned.
"Stay here, Gray." She ordered, pushing him out of the way of the door. "I'll be back in a bit."
She left.
-----
Tap, tap, tap….
Ann tapped the table softly with her head. She felt like her eyes were about to roll into the back of her head. There's no way she could have felt anything like this before. Her fingers drummed in front of her.
Yup. Ann was bored.
She wouldn't have been bored if it weren't for that stupid fight three stupid days ago with that stupid Wolvite attacking stupid Brigget and giving her those stupid injuries on her stupid body and making stupid Brigget think she had to stupid leave.
Stupid Brigget.
"What's wrong?"
"Wai!" Ann fell out of her chair, having jumped at the voice. Cliff flinched, rushing over to her.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for you to fall. How very rude of me!" He insisted. He pulled her off the ground, turning maroon at the look Ann was giving him.
"That's okay." She said, taking her seat back. "That's the most fun I've had all day."
"I know what you mean." Cliff took a seat next to Ann. "With Brigget fighting the Wolvite, almost getting killed, and then leaving, the whole town's in an uproar."
"How are her wounds now, anyway?" Ann asked.
"They're fine. Most of them have totally disappeared." Cliff sniffed, looking at the floor. "Her wrist was still sore, though."
"From the boulder you threw?" Ann guessed. Cliff nodded. "You know, I talked to her in the Clinic about that."
"You did?" Cliff turned even redder.
"Yup." Ann ran a hand through her hair. It needed to be re-braided. Ooh, where was her dad when she needed him? She couldn't French braid her hair herself. "I asked her why she blocked the boulder from hitting Tanya's wing and broke her wrist, when Tanya would have let her go sooner."
"What did Brigget answer?" Cliff asked.
"She said, 'there's no worse pain in the world than an irreversible break in the wing,' and wouldn't say anything else." Ann answered. "But then, she wouldn't have even if I asked her again. Rick came back into the Clinic and I had to leave."
"You stopped talking because Rick came in?" Cliff raised an eyebrow.
"You know I suck at keeping secrets." Ann pushed Cliff's shoulder a bit. "And moments before, Brigget made me swear I wouldn't tell Rick what she was up to."
"She made me do the same thing."
"She's made everyone in town swear! The only one who doesn't know Brigget's going to leave is Rick! That's why he's the only one in this town who's acting normal!" Ann raged.
"Karen is, too." Cliff mentioned, holding up a timid finger. "She's happy Brigget's leaving."
"Of course she's happy Brigget's leaving! She's getting rid of the competition without raising a finger! What she doesn't realize is that she's going to make Rick miserable and unhappy and why would anyone—" She stopped. Her eyes widened and her face paled. Cliff thought she was having a heart attack for a moment and was about to administer help when she suddenly beamed. She flung her arms around a frightened Cliff and squealed. "Cliff! You're a genius! You're dinner's on me tonight! Oh, I'd better hurry. You stay here!"
She was gone.
-----
Eli sighed, laying her head in her hands. She could still hear the Doctor shouting in the room next to her. She could also hear the meek replies of Thomas.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S LEAVING?!" Yelled the Doctor. Eli winced.
"Well, you see, she seems to think it'd be safer if—" Thomas was interrupted.
"WE HELD THE MEETING, WE AGREED SHE COULD STAY! SHE'S NOT LEAVING!"
"It's her choice, Doctor…."
Eli could hear the Doctor sigh, and it seemed like he was forcing himself to stay calm.
"What about Rick?" There was a pause where the Doctor was expecting to hear an answer from Thomas. "Rick can make her stay! Why won't he—" This time Thomas interrupted, his voice harder than stone.
"Brigget made it clear that she would rather Rick…. Not…. Know."
"WHAT?!" The Doctor flew into another rage.
Eli slammed the Clinic door shut behind her as she left. She didn't like it when Doctor Trent got into his rampages. She leaned onto the side of the Clinic and sighed, crossing her arms.
No one wanted Brigget to leave. They all wanted to keep her with them. Saibara had explained her reason being there with them, and everyone felt the exact same way for it. Everyone had said they would help Brigget.
Everyone except Karen, who hadn't said a word the whole meeting.
"Eli."
The voice startled her. Standing in front of her was a pink-haired, pout-faced girl with her arms folded and her lips pursed.
"Oh, Popuri, you scared me." Eli sighed.
"Sorry." Popuri was mad. Eli could tell.
"What's wrong?"
"My brother's too dense to realize a hint when he sees one."
Eli snorted.
"You tried to hint to him that Brigget's leaving?"
"He doesn't seem to get it. I promised Brigget I wouldn't tell, but she didn't say I couldn't hint."
"And he's not getting the hints."
"Correct."
"Well, the Doctor isn't taking too kindly to the idea of her leaving, either." Eli shrugged.
"I thought he wouldn't."
"No one seems to know what to do. No one can dissuade Brigget to stay."
"We need someone else to talk to her."
"People have been talking to her."
"Her friends have been talking to her."
Eli squinted. She furrowed her forehead. "So…. We should get one of her not-friends to talk to her?"
"Don't be stupid, Eli." Popuri laughed. "We need Rick to talk to her."
"But we can't tell Rick."
"We can't. But who's the one person in the town that hasn't talked to Brigget if it could be helped? Who would be the only person who wouldn't care if Brigget left or not?" Eli thought for a moment. "Who's the one person in the whole town who hasn't sworn to Brigget that Rick wouldn't know Brigget was leaving?"
"Karen."
"Correct."
"But why would Karen help?"
"I have an idea."
"Hey, you guys!"
Popuri and Eli swung around to see a frantic Ann pelting toward them.
"Does Rick know yet?" She asked. Popuri shook her head. Ann huffed, resting her hands on her knees as she stopped in front of Popuri. "Drat. Oh well. I have an idea, you guys!"
"So do I." Popuri replied.
"Wait a moment!"
Mary waddled hurriedly over to the circle the girls were now making.
"Hello, Mary." Ann said happily. Mary nodded her greetings.
"I have a good idea." She blurted.
"So do they, apparently." Eli gestured to Ann and Popuri.
"Does it have to do with Karen?" Mary asked. They all nodded. "Good. Then we're on the same page."
"No, we're not." Eli pouted. "I still don't know what's going on!" Popuri gave Eli a sharp look, reprimanding her for her slowness. She explained as they made a rush to the Supermarket.
"Karen is in love with Rick. Rick is in love with Brigget. If Brigget leaves, Rick will be thrown into misery. If we make Karen think it'll be her fault that Rick's sad, we can get her to tell Rick, because she's the only one who hasn't sworn."
"Oh!" Eli's expression brightened. "That's a good idea."
Popuri walked into the Supermarket.
"Jeff!" She called loudly. Jeff hurried into the room, flinching at every little thing.
"Y-yes, Po-Popuri?" He asked. He was slightly freaked to see all four girls with the same set look on their faces. "W-what can I d-d-do for you girls?"
"Where's Karen?" Eli asked.
"Here I am!" Karen burst through the back door happily, gliding toward her friends. "Welcome, welcome! I'm so glad you all dropped by! Free chocolate, all on me today!"
"Is there something to be happy about, Karen?" Popuri growled. Karen giggled.
"Of course there is." She stated. "The mutt's leaving for good."
"And you're all right with this?" Ann asked.
"It's her fault for coming here and trying to steal my boyfriend!" Karen seethed.
"I'm j-j-just going to g-g-go, Karen." Jeff left to his home from the back door.
"He's not your boyfriend." Mary pointed out. "You two have never clarified that." Karen turned an angry red.
"We would be, if it weren't for her, stealing him away from me like that! We can't have a civilized conversation without her popping in every other word he says. It's her fault." Karen spat.
"And even if you two were an item, I don't believe you would put my poor brother through such a torture." Popuri sighed, sitting on a counter. Karen's face hesitated in its smile for a moment, but quickly turned back into a smile.
"What are you talking about?" She asked. Ann took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as she sat on the table next to Popuri.
"Oh, you know." She nudged Karen. "The whole love triangle you seem to see going on?"
"What about it?" Karen snapped.
"Well," Mary adjusted her glasses smartly. "You like Rick. Rick likes Brigget. Let me finish." She added as Karen gave her a dark look. "You know it, too. You've seen the signs just like I have." She ran a hand through her hair confidently. "You also know as well as we do that Brigget is leaving."
"I know," Karen said. "Everyone but Rick knows."
"I'm glad we don't have to explain that to you." Popuri's expression suddenly became shadowy. "But do you know what will happen to Rick when she leaves?"
"He'll be completely free." Karen answered. Popuri jumped to her feet. Ann and Mary had to hold the furious girl back.
"No, you incompetent, selfish, flea-bag!" She growled. She began shouting at the top of her lungs. "You know what he's going to do? He's going to blame everyone in the town for not telling him that she's gone. He's going to hate the world because the one thing that ever interested him fully and completely ran away under his nose." Eli now had to come and help hold down the enraged woman. "HE'S GOING TO DESPISE YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE IN THE WHOLE TOWN WHO HASN'T SWORN TO TELL HIM THAT SHE'S LEAVING!" Karen stared, wide-eyed at her furious friend. Popuri sank to her knees, obviously exhausted from shouting.
"Popuri…."
"And it'll all be your fault." Popuri said. "My brother's misery will be you fault."
Karen bolted out the door.
Popuri stood, brushing off the dirt from her apron. Suddenly, she smiled.
"I swear I should go to acting school." She said, brushing out her hair. The others giggled uncertainly. "Come on," She said. "Let's get to Wolf Stables. This should get interesting."
-----
Rick sat on the fence, staring across the river to Wolf Stables. Something was happening, he could tell. He just couldn't see what. Whenever he walked anywhere, everyone looked at him with an air of despair. It made him feel uncomfortable. It also left him with a sense of feeling left out.
The sun glared into his eyes, breaking his train of thought. He looked at his watch. It was around 6:30.
Wow, he thought, this day has certainly gone by—
"RICK!"
Rick leapt off of the fence, only to be hit in the chest. He caught a frightened Karen, flying into him.
"What? What? What is it?" He asked. She wound her arms around him and burst into tears. Shocked, he pulled her away and stared at her tear-ridden face. "What happened?" He asked. "Was someone picking on you?"
"No, it's not—I can't—I'm sorry!!" She cried, tears gushing down her face. "I wasn't going to—but then—you wouldn't—and I'd just—don't be mad at meee!"
"What? Why would I be mad at you?" He asked. Karen sniffed, hiccupping and wiping a tear from her cheek.
"I-I should have t-t-told you before," She said. "N-No one else could."
"No one else could tell me what?" He asked. "Is this about why everyone's looking at me so strangely?"
"Rick…. Brigget, she…."
"What about Brigget?" Rick asked. Karen stared at the ground. Rick shook her slightly to pull her attention back to him. "Karen. What…about…Brigget?"
"From what she said, you should be able to catch her if you run." She simply said. She kissed Rick on the cheek.
"What?!" Rick widened his eyes dangerously. "She's leaving?"
"Rick—"
"She's leaving?" Rick was dumbfounded. She'd been planning to leave all day and no one told her.
"Rick, please—"
"She—that—you—" He stared at Karen angrily for a moment, groaned loudly, and took off running.
-----
Brigget placed the last thing needed into her back. She patted Kaiser on the nose and whistled for her dog.
"Ribbon! Let's go." Her dog bounded up to her, barking happily. Brigget laughed. "Yes, yes, I packed the treats. Don't you worry. Now, I need you to go inside and get the map and the reins." Ribbon licked her face once and bolted for the house.
Brigget cricked her back, heading toward the stable. She picked up the large saddle hanging on the fence Brigget built for future cows and swung it around.
"Going somewhere?"
Brigget inwardly freaked. Rick stood in front of her, his arms crossed and a seriously pissed look on his face. Brigget took a deep breath and walked past him to Kaiser.
"Yes." She answered, throwing the saddle onto Kaiser's back. He jerked under the new weight, but held it up nicely. She strapped it underneath him and patted his back.
For a while Rick didn't speak, as if trying to see if she would add something to her vague answer. Finally he opened his mouth and spoke.
"And just where are you running to?" He asked. She turned to him, her face held a smile but her eyes shrieked alarm.
"If I told you that, it would sort of ruin the whole thing about me not telling you in the first place." She answered, winking.
"You are running away, aren't you?" Rick guessed as Brigget fed oats to Kaiser. She shrugged.
"It all depends on how you see it." She said. "You and I both call it running away. Saibara and Thomas call it protecting everyone. Well, they do now that I've explained."
"That's another thing!" Rick said, pointing a finger at Brigget. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"
"Because I knew you were going to do something like this." Brigget answered. "That reminds me, how did you find out?"
"Karen."
"Huh. The one person I figured wouldn't tell." Brigget bit her lip. "That's interesting. I smell a plot." She turned to the entrance of her farm. Four girls stood with their arms crossed there, smirking. Rick turned and stared.
Popuri glanced at him for a second. It was then he realized just how smart his sister was. He recalled advice she had given him not too long ago about something like this. Now it made sense.
"Just because you think Brigget's doing something, doesn't mean she isn't doing something else."
"Thanks for the help there," Brigget said coolly, waving a hand. The four girls smiled mischievously. On the inside, Brigget was panicking. How was she going to get out now? Did these four know what they were getting into?
Shrugging off her anxiety, Brigget whistled for her dog again. Ribbon pelted toward her, a map and a rope in her mouth. Brigget took them and placed them into her bag.
"How do you get so many things to fit in that backpack?" Rick asked.
"It's magic, sort of. I can put anything—or anyone, I guess—into it and it'll stay in sort of like another dimension exactly as I left it there until I pull it out again. No matter if it's years until I use it again, it comes out like I just put it in there. And I can fit almost anything in there."
"Is that why you never take it off?" Rick asked.
"One of the reasons." Brigget smirked, leading the horse out of the farm.
Dread ripped through Rick as he realized Brigget was getting away. He bolted after her.
"So you're still intent on leaving, even if I know?" He asked, walking alongside her across the street.
"Pretty much, yeah." Brigget shrugged.
"I'm going with you."
"No, you're not."
"Yes I am."
"No, seriously, you're not." Brigget stared at him. "That was kind of why I didn't tell you in the first place."
"You're taking the coward's way out!" Rick spoke before he thought. Brigget stopped walking. She shook her head.
"You know, part of me thinks that, too." She said, not daring to look at him. This only made him angrier. She kept walking.
They were in the main plaza now. Rick had to do something or she'd leave and never come back. He went with the first idea that came to mind: Make her mad.
"You don't care!" He finally screamed. Once again Brigget stopped walking. She froze, rigid and tense. Rick went on. "You don't care that your leaving us will make everything different! You don't care that Cliff has gotten more confident, that Kai has been less drunk, that even Mom has gotten a little bit better!"
Brigget turned, now angry. She was inches from Rick and she glared daggers.
"Don't care?" She repeated. "Don't care? Rick, I'm leaving because I care!"
There was an eerie silence as Rick and Brigget argued. Popuri, Ann, Mary and Eli, who had followed behind a few steps as the shouting got louder, were now stunned into an awed stillness.
"If I stay and get caught, then it's over. The Wolvites lose. If I leave they won't know where I've gone and we're all still safe."
"That doesn't mean you care about any of us!" Rick shouted.
"Of course it does! They know where I am! They're going to rip the city apart trying to get at me! I don't know about you, but I'm not that enthused about having that on my conscience."
"You're conscience?" Rick sputtered. "We're talking about you're conscience? You were going to leave here without telling me! How do you think I was feeling; having everyone look at me like it's my fault everything that's happened today happened?" He threw his arms in the air. "You don't care!"
"Like hell I don't!" Brigget screeched. "Prove that I don't care!"
"You're leaving!"
"Yes, and that's so much crueler than staying and letting the eerie mess get knocked out of the townsfolk because I decided to stay and the Wolvites came after me and picked on the town."
"All right, you know what's cruel? What's cruel is not telling me that you're leaving. I had to find out from Karen while she was crying her eyes out!"
"She did it for her own sake." Brigget spat. She pulled Kaiser toward the beach to board the ferry.
"You…. You still haven't proved that you care." Rick was running out of ideas. He ran in front of Kaiser and blocked Brigget's path to the beach.
"Rick, I'm leaving because I care!" She growled. "I'm leaving because I care about Popuri; I'm leaving because I care about you—you, because I care about—"
Rick didn't know what happened. He didn't know what he was doing. He hadn't realized that he had cupped Brigget's face in his hands and brought it toward his own.
Likewise, Brigget in no way predicted that he would have kissed her. One second she was yelling at him and the next he was laid his hands on her cheeks and pulled her to him. She immediately turned red. Her eyes stayed wide open. Alarmed, she tried to pull back.
Rick could feel her pull away. He held her in place.
Well, he thought to himself, I got myself in this situation; I might as well finish it.
Brigget was panicking. Rick's lips were soft and pleading against hers, and he gently prodded into her mouth. It was actually quite nice, but Brigget tried not to give in.
Rick wrapped his arms around Brigget's waist, determined not to let her leave.
Please…. He thought desperately. Please….
The four other girls, meanwhile, stared blankly. Popuri had slapped her hands to her mouth, trying to stifle cries of glee. Eli had fainted dead away. Ann muffled her own squeal and hugged Mary, who started crying.
Brigget was still kissing Rick. He wouldn't let her go. And it was kind of pleasant. Slowly, Brigget relaxed in Rick's arms and closed her eyes.
Rick felt a wave of relief as Brigget stopped tensing her muscles. She nervously leaned onto him. Rick broke the kiss away. Brigget's eyes stayed closed, as if she was scared to open them. Her eyes opened bit by bit, and soon two large yellow eyes stared at Rick, with horrified expressions on them. Brigget bit her bottom lip anxiously.
"I'm sorry," Rick said quietly. "I know you care. I know," He placed his forehead against hers.
"You do?" She asked, so quietly it was almost inaudible.
"You're scared." He answered. "In fact, I bet you're terrified. You've spent seventeen years running from your past, and now that you've found a place that you feel welcome in, the Wolvites find you and threaten your comfortable life." Rick's arms tightened their hold on Brigget, who was now shaking slightly. "But it's okay. It's all right. The town has ways of protecting itself. We need you, Brigget; almost as much as you need us. And…." Rick licked his lips, watching the bright yellow of her eyes calmly switch back into the beautiful grass-green they were supposed to be. "And… I need you. Please, Brigget. Don't leave."
Damn. Brigget thought sourly. Damn. This wasn't good. How could she come up with a reply to that? It was too good. She opened her mouth and nothing came out.
"I—" Brigget sputtered. For good measure, Rick placed another kiss onto her lips, quickly pulling away.
That was it. Brigget couldn't take any more.
"Well…." She shrugged. Rick's arms tightened around her waist. "I don't think I could give a comeback to that, even if I wanted to…."
"So you'll stay?" Rick asked, a light in his eyes gleaming. Brigget took a deep breath.
"Yes." She answered. "Damn it, yes."
Applause broke out. Uproarious applause. Both Rick and Brigget jumped and turned around. Behind the four girls who started the whole mess were the people of the town, clapping as loudly as they could. Brigget reddened, pulling back into Rick. Rick hugged her.
"Come on," Saibara—who was clapping loudest—said. "We've got a lot of things to do."
With a shrug, Brigget followed Saibara, hand-in-hand with Rick.
-----
Yes! I finished it! Took me for friggin EVER, too. T.T Oh, well. I think it's my best chapter so far. n.n
Any of you guys (besides Koholint, because I already know you do) have an account on Deviant Art? I can't draw worth a lick, but I was wondering if anyone would draw something from WolfStables for me. I have all these images in my head and it irritates me that I can't put them on paper. And I'm probably going to give Koholint carpel tunnel with all the drawings she and I have already done. Just a thought.
Please review!
