Disclaimer: …. I don't even want to say it anymore… It's so damn depressing.
Popsicle passed her some eggs as she glanced toward the door. She was getting nervous; they'd been out there forever. Raw rumbled and leaned against her companionably. "Not used to feeling DG so nervous. What wrong?"
She laughed softly. "I'll tell you in a few minutes. Jeb needs to know first." She wrapped her hand around his and tried to wait more patiently. She failed miserably of course. She began to fidget soon after and was making poor Raw nervous.
The seer finally had enough of her and tugged her to her feet. "Come outside. Walk. Making Raw's fur stand on end." She followed him feeling ridiculous as he lead her out the back entrance. Sighing she walked out and headed to someone's back porch perching herself on the railing. She gazed at her furry friend and gave him a nervous smile.
"I can break our connection now Raw." Distractions were good.
Raw held out his hands to her and she extended her own hand in response. "If DG not care… Raw not want spell broken."
She looked at him confused. "Why? Doesn't it give you a headache or something?"
Raw squeezed her hand and she rested her head on a beam next to her as they talked. "Raw likes to know when DG in trouble. When DG safe. Can't help if not know."
Her heart warmed at his words and she felt very loved but she was more worried that this binding might be hurting her gentle friend. Raw shook his head emphatically. "Not hurt. Took time to adjust but Raw understand now. Can control."
She lifted her head and nodded. "Ok Raw. If it doesn't hurt you that's fine with me." He stroked her hand purring at her. She grinned at him. "So now that you've found me what are you going to do?"
"Raw come to help DG. That what Raw will do. We go to Finaqua again?"
She bounced off the railing and threw her arms around him laughing. "Really? Raw you're the best!" He laughed at her enthusiasm patting her back before setting her back on her feet.
"I get to look after you again Furball?" Cain sauntered over to them through the back door with Jeb close behind. She stepped away from Raw shooting a worried look at the young man. He walked up to her and stopped in front of her his eyes meeting hers very seriously. She rubbed the back of her leg with her foot nervously.
Then he grabbed her in a bear hug and all the air she had in her lungs was forced out. He twirled her around and she wrapped her arms around his neck screeching at him. He just laughed spinning her faster. He set her down and she staggered back like a drunk. Wyatt caught her from behind before she could fall on her butt. She heard and felt his laughter as the world tried to steady itself. "Bad Jeb! Now everything's all spinny!"
He laughed as she pushed off of Cain and planted her feet. Jeb walked back over to her with a grin on his face. "I can't believe you proposed to him." She heard Raw let out a surprised growl to her left. Jeb leaned down and kissed her cheek lightly. "But I'm glad you did. Take care of him."
She blushed horribly but managed a to wink at him. "Duh." Jeb shook his head at her and smacked his father on the shoulder before going back inside. She tried not to sag in relief at Jeb's support but figured she screwed that up pretty good. Cain pulled her against him again and rumbled softly as he propped his chin on her head.
"Feel better now Sweetheart? I told you he liked you." She huffed but rested her arms on top of his. Cain turned his head and she felt her nicely brushed hair tangling. "Let's hear it then Furball." He sighed.
Raw just chuckled and gave Cain a knowing look. "Raw thinks DG needs ring. Cain wants her marked as his." Cain muttered under his breath and she rolled her eyes at him.
"You want me marked? This is a guy thing isn't it?" She asked mostly amused.
His arms held her closer. "No, I don't want anyone thinking any less of you for sharing my bed."
His voice was to level. She so didn't believe him. "You're such a liar. Besides… I might want you marked too Cowboy." Hey, he wasn't the only one that could be territorial. He stilled behind her before he let out a snort of amusement. She tilted her head up so she could see his face. "So what kind of rings do you want?"
"What?"
"Rings." She said slowly. He raised an eyebrow impatiently. "I was going to make some. You know magic… What kind do you want?"
He rolled his eyes at her. "You're not making your own engagement ring."
"Why not?"
He glared down at her. "Because I said so." She could almost hear him digging his heels in.
"Fine. What do you suggest then?" She was going to give him this one. If he wanted to get her a ring she wasn't going to turn that down. It was all romantic and adorable. Besides she kinda liked surprises.
He sighed dramatically down at her. "Let me worry about that Darlin." She huffed up at him. And he smirked at her so she decided to ignore him. She looked back Raw who was grinning at them as they bickered.
"Well if you're not going to let me be involved in this I'm going to go pack our stuff and say bye to Momster and Popsicle." He let her go and she went up her toes kissing his jaw before she trotted off to the house where they'd been staying. It didn't take her long to pack the few belongings they had and as much food as she could fit into their packs.
She threw her pack over her shoulder and held Cain's in her arms as she exited the house. Raw was waiting for her outside with her Roboparents. She set both packs down on the bottom step and hugged Momster fiercely. "Be careful Pumpkin."
"I always try to be."
Popsicle chuckled at her as he drew her into his arms. "We know but you tend to loose focus at the first shiny object you encounter." Raw growled in amusement.
"Unfair! That only happened three times!" Momster crossed her arms pulling her sweater closer as a small smile tugged at her lips. Raw motioned down the street and she saw Cain and Jeb walking toward them with three horses in tow. She glanced back at her foster parents. "I'll miss you guys! See you soon!" She leaned in hugging them both whispering. "I'm sure the wedding invitations will be out soon at any rate."
She grabbed their packs and skipped away from an exasperated Momster and a thunderstruck Popsicle. Raw followed after her and she handed Wyatt his pack as she secured her own behind her patient mare. She was going to be sore again, damn it. She took the reins from Jeb with a smile. "Thanks."
His eyes twinkled. "You're welcome. Be careful and don't worry about the slipper. I think he and I will have a grand time together."
She put her hands on her hips. "Don't be too mean alright? He's not that bad just kind of an idiot." He shrugged before taking her free hand in his and kissing it gently. She smiled pleased and grateful she and young captain got along. "See ya down the road Jeb." She stepped back and hauled herself up into the saddle.
Cain hugged Jeb tightly before getting on his own horse. Once they were set Cain tipped his hat to her Roboparents and turned to his son. "Keep sharp and try to stay out of trouble."
Jeb and her foster parents waved them off as Cain led them out of town and into the forest. They had been traveling for over an hour in a generally southern direction weaving around the large trees. Her curiosity finally got the better of her. "How do you always know where you are?" She had given up on guessing about this and wanted to know.
The Tin Man glanced back at her with an eyebrow raised. "I was taught to know where I am."
Her brow furrowed as she processed this. "Yeah, but I thought you worked in Central City before. Do they teach all Tin Men how to navigate around the Outer Zone?"
Cain grunted as he turned back around. "No. I didn't learn wilderness training in the academy."
She rolled her eyes at him. "You're really going to make me ask for clarification aren't you?" Raw chuckled as there horses wound there way around a fallen tree.
Cain turned back around looking bemused. "Sorry Sweetheart. I'm not used to people asking questions unless they want to use the information I give them." She inserted the 'for not good reasons' into the thought herself. "The academy teaches cadets about laws and procedures and what they should expect to see in the city. Not many Tin Men leave the city after training and those that do usually have family in the part of the realm they get assigned to so they don't need to learn much else. They have a pretty good knowledge of the place they'll be protectin."
"So you learned this, what, while you were working for the Mystic Man?"
He shook his head. "No, good guess though Darlin. The Mystic Man stayed in the city most of the time. I learned it from my father. He was a merchant and my family traveled around the realm while I was growing up. He knew just about every stream and hiding place you could imagine, including the magic ones. Taught me where they were and how to take care of myself in the woods."
She tilted her head intrigued. "Really? That must have been exciting. How'd you end up as a Tin Man?"
Cain snorted. "Are you trying to get my whole history in one sitting?"
She bit her lip feeling guilty. She was curious and tended to forget how persistent she could be when she found something interesting. She should have known better than to prod the private man so much. She stayed quiet as she guided her mare after Cain's horse. He glanced back at her his cool eyes flicking over her guilty face then shooting back to Raw. "I was only teasing DG." His voice was soft and her eyes went up to his questioningly. She wasn't used to him teasing her in front of anyone; it had thrown her.
She nodded smiling slightly at him. She pressed on fighting her embarrassment over the awkward moment. "And the Tin Man thing?"
He was still eyeing her quietly as he answered. "I was tired of moving around so much when I was Jeb's age and didn't want to be a merchant. Wasn't for me. I didn't want to be bored either." He shrugged. "I'd met a few Tin Men when I was young and liked them. Understood what they did and why they did it. Figured I could be happy helping people, so I joined up when we stopped in Central City." He paused for a moment considering his next thought. "I met Adora a few months later and we got married the next spring. Then we had Jeb and the war started a few years after that. You know the rest."
She gave him an understanding smile knowing he was uncomfortable talking about his past with Adora. She didn't want him thinking that it was wrong for him to talk about her. That would have been both insulting and selfish of her and honestly from what she'd managed to gather about the woman she had been both clever and brave. She saw no reason for Wyatt to add guilt onto his conscience thinking that this subject bothered her. "How'd your family take it when you told them you wanted to be a Tin Man?"
He was analyzing her reaction to the story. She could tell he was slightly astonished that she was unfazed by the mention of Adora. She didn't know why, she had been with him through the worst of finding out what had happened to her. His intense stare was starting to make her skin crawl. "What?"
He shook his head slightly and answered her question. "I don't think they were all that surprised. They certainly didn't say anything against it but I think it made my mother nervous."
She grinned. "Yeah, moms have a tendency to worry about their children doing dangerous things. I should know I have two."
Cain snorted and Raw chuckled at that. Raw shook his head. "DG does manage to find danger." The viewer sighed sadly.
She shrugged. "I like to think trouble generally knows where I am most of the time."
"Truer words have never been spoken Darlin."
She huffed. "So how long until we make it to the magical waters of wonder great navigator?"
"Tomorrow night."
"Lovely, over a full day in the saddle. I'm so thrilled."
Cain chuckled wickedly. "True, but just think, after that it'll take us five days in the saddle to get to the Ice Palace. And it'll be cold the last day."
"Cain…"
"Yes Sweetheart?"
"I don't want to marry you anymore. You're a bad man."
He threw his head back laughing as she glared at the back of his head. She bet her butt would actually fall off. Then he would sorry because she would never shut up about it. She really missed her motorcycle.
Author Note: I want reviews people! Come on! I just wrote you a whole chapter on vacation and had to face scary office people so I could access the internet. Show some love for the fox! Thanks!