Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Carebear characters within this story.
A/N: Well, here it is just about a month since I have finished 'Disarmed.' Already I'm on another story. I believe this is going to be better than the past one since the plotline isn't so complicated and there aren't any original characters. Anyway, review if you like or to flame. I need some constructive criticism for this story. Enjoy!

Into The Fog
WretchedWords

1. Apprentice

Thin cirrus clouds graced the bright, blue skies as a cloud car slowly hovered through the skies. Gentle Heart lamb and Playful Heart monkey both sat inside of the car, Playful armed with a star-o-scope and Gentle Heart drove as safely as she could while watching the beautiful scenery. Winter had finally disappeared, being replaced by trees with buds beginning to appear and soft new grass coating the ground. The lamb rested her head in a paw, her other left on the steering wheel as she admired the scenery. From an aerial view, forests know looked like patches of white and pink from the new blossoms just beginning to bloom. She felt the cloud car lean more to the right, and looked over to see Playful Heart leaning as far out from the car as he possibly could. Gentle Heart gasped. "Playful Heart! You'll fall out!"

The monkey cousin dropped the star-o-scope that he was looking through on to his seat as he hopped back inside of the cloud car. Gentle Heart put both her paws on the steering wheel as the weight in the cloud car made it shift once again. He flashed her a toothy smile. "I'm not gonna fall! I've been doing stuff like this for all my life…"

With that, he leaned out of the cloud car again, wrapping his tail around the door handle inside of the car to keep from falling forward. The lamb blinked, and sighed, turning her attention back to what was ahead of her. She was normally used to going on caring missions alone, and this was probably only her third or fourth time she went with someone else. In fact, she rarely had to go on missions. Yes, there were a lot of kids on Earth that needed her help, but even she had to admit, that there weren't too many cases where the kids or people actually needed her specific help. Gentle Heart looked down at her paws as she drove, now ignoring Playful Heart performing his stunts. Sometimes it felt like she wasn't needed in the family… she was just an extra or a substitute if another Carebears or cousin couldn't go on a mission for whatever reason.

"Over there!"

Gentle Heart jumped at the sudden outburst of her caring partner and looked down at where he was pointing. His finger was directed seemingly towards nowhere. She shrugged, and directed the cloud car to where he said they needed to go. Gentle Heart drove into a clearing in the woods that they were in and parked the car. As the two got out, Gentle Heart gulped. It had been at least a month straight, surprisingly, since she had last been on a caring mission. She hoped that she hadn't lost the touch of a Carebear. Playful put a paw to his chin. "I think she was over… there!"

Playful Heart grabbed unto a low hanging branch of a tree and swung himself on top of it. Gentle Heart didn't say anything as he took off, leaping from branch to branch. With a sigh, she began running to keep up with her partner who was as fast as Greased Lightning. She watched as Playful Heart skidded to a halt on a branch and jumped down. Gentle Heart, panting, walked to his side and then looked forward to see a girl looking very lonely, sitting on a log in the middle of a small clearing. She felt a small pit of nervousness develop in her stomach, hoping that she wouldn't completely ruin the caring mission. She didn't know if a mission had ever gone completely horrible before. She didn't want to be the first. The two walked over. Gentle Heart cleared her throat, calling out to the girl. "Are you alright?"

The girl on the log looked up, and now having a good look of her face, Gentle Heart assumed the girl was maybe eleven or twelve. The girl had blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and bright green eyes, and it was easy to tell that she would grow up to become very beautiful. The girl blinked, a tear running down her face. It was clear that she had been crying for quite some time. "Do I look alright?"

The two Carebear cousins exchanged glances. Inwardly, Gentle Heart was wondering why she just happened to get the caring mission with the stubborn girl, and immediately felt guilty for thinking such a thing. Playful Heart cleared his throat, trying a new approach. "Maybe you don't know us… we're the Careb-"

"The Carebears and the Carebear cousins, I've heard about you," the girl answered, "And you can't help me, so leave me alone."

"Sure we can!" Playful Heart said, hopping on the log to sit down. Gentle Heart followed suit and softly cleared her throat, "We can try if you just explain."

The girl wiped a tear from her eyes, forcing herself to smile in disbelief. "I heard you Carebears are all one family, so you wouldn't know what I'm going through. No one does."

"We're here for you," Gentle Heart bleated quietly, "We can help all that we can. What's your name?"

"Cassidy, but that won't help at all," The girl answered, standing up as if trying to get away from them. "Now leave me alone! You have a perfect family, so you won't understand anything that I'm going through."

Playful Heart leaned over to Gentle Heart. "Maybe we should do a Carebear call… this calls for the work of Friend Bear."

Gentle Heart stared at the soft grass on the ground, thinking. Might as well… there was a good chance that she couldn't pull off the work that Friend Bear could. Everyone got along with her… but why wouldn't this girl just get along with Gentle Heart? Was she doing something wrong? Playful poked her in the side again. "Hello? Earth to Gentle Heart…"

She snapped out of her thoughts with a slight jump. "We should."

Playful Heart jumped up from the log. "You just hold on a minute, Cassidy. We're gonna get someone that I think you'll like."

With that, his tummy symbol glowed before the girl waved her hands frantically. "No!"

Playful Heart paused from readying the call, and cocked his head to the side. "What's wrong?"

Cassidy folded her arms across her chest. "I don't want any more of you coming here to try and 'help' me. If you're gonna keep doing this, I might as well tell you what's wrong and get it over with."

Playful looked at Gentle Heart, and shrugged, sitting back down next to her. "Okay. What is it that's bugging you?"

"Like I said, you aren't going to understand. Everyone in my family are all these great big 'successors' in life, except for me," she explained, twiddling her fingers on 'successors' for emphasis, "And I'm the only one without some sort of God-given talent, so no one cares about what I do. If I'm good at one thing, it's losing and having my family annoyed."

"You aren't annoying anyone, Cassidy," Playful Heart said, Gentle Heart silent.

She had to admit that this caring mission was a bit convenient. She always felt this way… but what the girl said about talent opened her eyes. All of the Carebear family had some special talent… that is, everyone except her. As Playful talked to the girl, she thought of what talent everyone could possibly have. Bright Heart was a genius, Harmony Bear could sing, Lotsa-Heart elephant was the strongest person she had ever met. She could go on forever about each member of the family. Gentle Heart forced herself back into reality. She shouldn't be thinking selfish things like that on a caring mission. She listened to what Playful Heart was saying.

"Everyone has talents, Cassidy. They may not be exactly like the ones of your family, but there has got to be one down inside," Playful said.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

"Well, you're pretty good at debating based off of what I've been hearing from you," Playful Heart grinned.

Cassidy didn't smile. She just stared, not finding humor in the joke whatsoever. Playful stopped grinning… it wasn't too often that he couldn't get someone to smile. "Maybe you can come to Care-A lot. All of the other Carebears can help you find that talent."

"No way!" She retorted, "I came to these woods to get away from people, so I'm not leaving it to see any one!"

She marched to the log and sat down. Gentle Heart blinked, knowing that it would take more than the strength of Lotsa-Heart to get this girl unglued from the log. She looked at Playful Heart, who had an expression of hopelessness. She could tell that he was really considering a Carebear call. Gentle Heart decided to try to help Cassidy. "Cassidy, you shouldn't treat yourself like this…"

"Get AWAY!" The girl suddenly shouted, nearly knocking Gentle Heart backwards with surprise, "I don't want your help! I don't need your help or anyone else's! I hate you just like everyone else so stop trying!"

The lamb was silent. Not once in her life had anyone told them that they hated her. Sure, there was No Heart, but he hated everyone and everything except for himself. At first, she hardly felt any emotion except for shock, wondering if she was the first Carebear to ever be told this. She heard Playful Heart lightly say something along the lines of, "I'm gonna do a call and get some help here."

"No," Gentle Heart softly spoke, "I'll get them. I'm not helping."

The monkey cousin raised his eyebrows. "Sure you are! You don't have to… leave."

She had already begun walking toward the cloud car before he could finish his sentence. He watched as she quietly got inside of the cloud car and steered it out of the clearing in a hurry. She usually drove very cautiously and slowly, but now it looked at though she was desperate to leave. He watched her leave, driving out of view behind the trees of the woods. Playful Heart turned to look at Cassidy, who was still sitting firmly on the log. She narrowed her eyes. "You planning on lecturing to me about how I treat myself, too?"

He weakly smiled. "Never…"

Gentle Heart had been in the cloud car for only a second before she felt the first stings of emotion catch up with her. She could feel her throat tightening as she wondered more about what had just happened. "This has to be the first time a Carebear has been told that," she said to herself softly as the first sign of tears came.

"Told what?"

She jumped, and then looked down to see that by the way she was sitting, her knee was pressing down the radio 'talk' button. She quickly wiped the few tears in her eyes away as if afraid of someone seeing her crying, and lifted up the radio. "Never mind. Are a lot of Carebears free right now?"

"Sure," The voice of Tender Heart replied, "You don't sound too good. Need any help?"

"I'm not feeling too well," she answered in the radio. Her throat was scratchy and burning from trying to keep herself from making it apparent she was crying, "But Playful Heart needs help on a caring mission. Is Friend Bear there?"

"Just about everyone but her," Tender Heart answered. "What's the problem?"

"It's too long to explain," Gentle Heart replied, not wanting to explain just what exactly happened. If she was lucky, Playful Heart wouldn't say anything either, "Then, maybe Cheer Bear or Champ should help instead."

"Okay, then," Tender Heart said, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Gentle Heart hurriedly answered, "Bye."

With that, she pressed the 'off' button of the radio and leaned back in her seat. She finally exhaled, realizing that she had been holding it for quite some time and then inhaled strongly. It hurt her throat somehow even more, but she somehow found relief that she wouldn't have to go to the Carebears herself like this and explain what had happened. She turned the cloud car in the direction of the Forest of Feelings so she could finally go home. The convenient thing about having a home is the air that traveling to it only was flying in a straight line. It only took twelve minutes for her to arrive there and jump out of the Cloud Car. It disappeared as she walked to the home that she had lived in for what seemed like an eternity. The Forest of Feelings wasn't very different from the forest that she was just in with Playful Heart and Cassidy. The flowers were radiant and the colors were warm, the signs of Spring just beginning.

Her house was surrounded by a natural garden she always stopped to admire during the spring and summer days, but now she ignored the brightly colored flowers and plants, and went inside of her small house. The first thing that she did was wander into the kitchen. Whenever she felt stressed from a caring mission or something that had happened recently with No Heart, the first thing she did was make a cup of tea. She rummaged through her cupboards until she found a tea kettle. "I wonder if Noble and True Heart have ever been told that they were hated…"

She placed the pot on the stove and turned the knob until flames appeared. The lamb sauntered into the kitchen, now only having to wait. Normally, she would be doing things with her friends in Care-A lot or the Forest of Feelings at this time. Gentle Heart stared at her paws as she sat on the counter of the kitchen. How is it possible that just one single girl could have this much of an effect on one Carebear? Maybe this has happened to someone else in family and they also just decided not to tell anyone about it. Not everyone could have absolutely perfect caring missions, could they?

The skies were cloudless as Gentle Heart walked behind Brave Heart lion who had a rolled blanket underneath one arm. She stared at the skies above her as Brave Heart talked to himself about the most perfect place for a picnic. With Gentle Heart was a small group of Carebears and cousins consisting of Love-A-lot Bear, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Cozy Heart penguin and Proud Heart cat. She looked forward as there was a triumphant sound coming from Brave Heart. He pointed at the soft grass on the ground. "This is it! This is the spot that we'll stay!"

Love-A-Lot giggled. "It isn't that important…"

The lion looked at her strangely, flicking his tail. "Not important? The last time I had a picnic, it was right where Beastly decided to crash land in his flying bicycle! I gotta be more careful these days…"

Proud Heart cat sighed. "Can you put the blanket on the ground? I'm not going to sit in all of the dirt…"

The lion shrugged, grabbing unto a blanket corner, and then rolled on the ground to unroll it. Everyone sat down as Good Luck Bear set his basket on the ground and opened it with a sigh. "I haven't relaxed in forever."

Love-A-Lot nodded as she was passed a sub sandwich. "There has been a lot of caring missions lately. What's the world coming to?"

Gentle Heart took her own sandwich and then passed another to Funshine and Cozy Heart. It had been only three days since what had happened on Earth with Cassidy. Now, she thought a bit more differently than she was earlier. It wasn't her fault that of all Carebears, she was chosen to be the one of this girl. It was just coincidence, and it would be for any other Carebear. She hadn't yet talked to Playful Heart, Champ or Cheer Bear about what had happened on account of the fact that Love-A-Lot was right… Care-A lot had been loaded with caring missions for the majority of the week. Luckily, none of them were the fault of No Heart and his shadows. So now, having a picnic in their one ounce of free time felt like a relief.

The actual picnic itself didn't last very long… it had only been at least half an hour before Love-A-Lot was called to earth to help a girl with boyfriend problems. Soon after, Brave Heart also had to leave, only leaving Gentle Heart, Proud Heart, Funshine and Cozy Heart. The four sat for a while, when it began to show that the afternoon was beginning to morph into the times closer to nighttime. The four left, Gentle Heart walking with Proud Heart. The lamb kicked a small pebble as the two walked along. It was silent for a long while.

"…Do you think that Carebears can actually like each other?" Proud Heart asked from seemingly nowhere.

Gentle Heart's ear perked up. "But we already like each other."

The cat smiled slightly with a laugh. "What a mean is have feelings for each other. You know, romantic stuff?"

Gentle Heart blinked. She had no idea where this came from. "Um… I don't know. Why?"

Proud Heart kicked the pebble also, looking at her home with was further down the path. "Because I've been thinking lately. Do you think Noble Heart and True Heart have something more than just a family relationship sort of thing?"

The lamb stopped to think a moment. Weren't they just really good friends like any other member of the Carebear family? It wasn't as if it was disgusting for the Carebears to have romantic feelings or anything… it wasn't as if the Carebears and cousins were actually related by blood or genetics. Gentle Heart didn't know much about family genes and scientific things, but she knew that the Carebear family got its title by the fact that everyone cared for each other equally and as a family. But as for Noble Heart and True Heart… she heard stories about them being friends way earlier than they became actual Carebears, when they were just a regular bear and a regular horse. Turning her focus back on to the question that Proud Heart had asked, she shrugged. "I really don't know. I never thought of it before."

Proud Heart paused on the path that led to her house with a grin. "I'm pretty sure that there's a cousin that might have feelings for someone else."

Gentle Heart cocked her head to the side. "Who?"

Instead of an answer, the feline gave a slight shiver. "It is getting kind of cold… don't want my fur to be affected somehow. Buh-bye."

Gentle Heart also began walking further down the path leading to her own house. It actually didn't feel that cold at all. It would be around another ten to fifteen minutes until she got to her own home, which was located farther into the woods by a spring. She hummed softly to herself as the skies grew from pink and orange to a violet and dark blue hybrid. It was nearing seven at night most likely, and this had to be her longest time of the week as for not having any caring missions. Gentle Heart had been staring at the ground for some time when there was a rustle in the trees above her. She stopped, looking up and then was surprised to see something she hadn't even noticed before. There was a heavy fog all around her… the farthest she could see forward was a few yards before it was swallowed by the fog. Gentle Heart gulped, continuing to walk. It was spring. Fog always came in on the mornings, so why not at night? Gentle Heart didn't keep track of the time as she walked forward… she was too busy looking around at how little she could see. She had perfectly memorized the path to her home… she remembered just about every thing from a branch of a tree to every single blade of grass. But where she was now was unfamiliar… if there wasn't so much fog she probably would have known where she was.

But now she was hopelessly lost. The lamb stopped a moment, looking around nervously. She closed her eyes, tummy symbol glowing. It produced a pink light that didn't affect the dense fog at all except make it appear pink around her. She groaned in both worry and frustration, sitting on the ground. Why did this have to happen now of all times? She thought a moment, contemplating on a way to get out of this situation. Based on appearances, the fog wasn't going to clear up any time soon.

"Fancy I find you out here at this hour."

She jumped to her feet, recognizing the voice in an instant. Her light blue eyes scanned the fog in front of her, trying to pinpoint where it had come from. There was a snap to her right, and with a gasp she whirled to face it. She could barely make out a dark shape lounging on a tree limb in a relaxed pose. Gentle Heart tried not to let out a yelp as her eyes adjusted to the setting and she could tell that the shape was no more than a big cat of some kind. It seemed to be inspecting dagger-like claws, tail point slowly flicking in thought. The cat then sat up, and pounced, landing gracefully on the ground no more than two yards from Gentle Heart. She cursed herself for not realizing that this fog couldn't have been natural as the panther morphed into something much taller. No Heart.

Gentle Heart began backing away, now wishing that she had the courage of Brave Heart. There wasn't that much distance between the two when she felt the bark of a tree at her back. Cornered, Gentle Heart looked up into his hood frightfully, managing to say something. "What do y-you want?"

She could almost feel his smile as he spoke. "I only want to tell something to you… a proposition."

The Carebear cousin didn't like the sound of that. She straightened, tummy symbol glowing to ready a Carebear stare as if to warn him, though she knew that she alone couldn't harm him almost at all. No Heart merely blinked. "There isn't a need for that… harming you in any way isn't any where near my intentions."

She didn't stop the stare preparation despite his claim. No Heart was a liar, cheater and sorcerer who wouldn't just do this out of nowhere. Gentle Heart attempted to look unafraid. "I don't believe you."

"And I wouldn't expect you to," No Heart answered calmly, "It must be very odd for me to appear to someone I have been trying to destroy for some time and act perfectly natural. Still, you must listen to me."

Gentle Heart stepped sideways until the tree wasn't behind her. Now she could turn and run whenever she wanted… and then she realized she would have only a small chance of getting away. He could morph into anything he wanted, including a cheetah, horse or anything else that could outrun her. Instead, she thought of something else. She once again put on her determined expression, though she could tell herself that it probably wasn't convincing. "You better get away… because my family will get here soon."

No Heart laughed. "It would take hours for them to respond to your call in all of this fog."

Gentle Heart realized she was already defeated and looked at the ground. "What do you want from me?"

The sorcerer walked forward, moving more out of the surrounding fog. "I am going to make this short as possible… You are different from the rest of your family, whether you are aware of this or not. I have noticed it for quite some time, though you most likely think that I would never notice along with everyone else."

Gentle Heart blinked, looking at the ground curiously. Why would she be different from anyone else in her family? She would have thought of the caring mission she had with Playful Heart and the Cassidy girl, but No Heart had said that he noticed her difference for some time.

No Heart continued, "Magic is a complicated thing. It only works correctly for few people to be true. I believe that you are the type for magic…"

Gentle Heart perked her ears, catching the last sentence with a bit of shock. She was gradually finding what he was saying a bit too much. She looked up slowly to meet his gaze. She didn't say anything. There wasn't much to say to begin with except for her to just listen and understand more.

"This isn't a case of who is and who isn't an enemy anymore," No Heart answered in a tone that caught her attention, "I could show you magic."

This was finally going in a direction that Gentle Heart didn't want to stay in too much longer. Why would No Heart choose her of all Carebears? She wasn't that different. Gentle Heart took a step back, and she could already tell that he knew what she was planning. Still, she turned and began running farther into the fog. The lamb looked around her, trying to find any indication that she was heading toward any of the other homes of a Carebear cousin. Everything around her was unfamiliar. Looking behind her shoulder, she didn't see No Heart anywhere, nor could she see him. Gentle Heart looked ahead of her again, still feeling as though this still wasn't a safe moment. Then, she looked to her right and saw something glimmer through the fog. The lake! Cozy Heart was there. Suddenly, there was a dark purple flash in front of her and she couldn't move forward. Opening her eyes, she saw something thick and scaled in front her. Surprisingly she didn't scream despite the fear of what form No Heart had taken.

As a boa constrictor, No Heart somehow managed to hang from the tree branches hidden in the fog, making it appear as though his coils were suspended in the air by nothing. A long portion of his dark purple coils prevented her from moving forward. The lamb stepped back before bumping into another coil that was much more close to his head. No Heart flicked his tongue out, bringing his red eyes close to hers for emphasis. "Many people would go to extremes just to simply hear an offer such as this one. This is more of a favor I am doing for you than you actually realize. Now, there are two options that you have. To either listen, or continue to be a nobody in the Carebear family. This is an offer you only find once in life."

Gentle Heart blinked. A nobody? "How did you know that?"

The snake smiled slightly. "I know much more than you think I do. I know that you are the only one that I would offer this to. I also believe you are having a problem with 'talents?' Magic can simply solve that, also." With that said, he moved his coils so she had a way to escape, "Now… would you rather listen or continue to be the family member that is overlooked?"

Gentle Heart looked at the opening that she had now. She thought carefully. She knew that it was wrong, but she was beginning to realize No Heart was right. She was a nobody. Could magic really solve that? Could she really be heartless enough to hide the fact she was learning magic from her family? She bit down on her lip. She was still very unaware why No Heart was telling all of this to her… but would she somehow regret it if she said no to something as wrong as this? No Heart waited for an answer, and she finally could only nod. He smiled, circling around to face her front. "Then you shall learn more."

He gave her a light shove with his head, and she stepped backwards to be forced to sit on something. Looking up, she realized that his thickest coils that were once in the tree had been lowered to form a U-shape, making the rest of his body into a 'swing.' She shuddered, still not liking to be this close to a snake, nor a snake that was truly No Heart in another form. He flicked his tongue thoughtfully, his head and upper body still suspended by the tree in front of her. "It is time that I teach magic to another, an 'apprentice' so to say… my reasons will not be explained thoroughly."

Gentle Heart placed her hands on the coils on either side of her, still silent though there were hundreds of questions buzzing in her head. No Heart continued, "You must be thinking that this is all a plan to lure you into my castle, but I assure you that it isn't. This doesn't involve an adversary with the Carebear family in any way."

Gentle Heart stopped, looking into his eyes for the first time. She was surprised to say that she could tell he was telling the truth. Just about every Carebear had a knack for knowing whether or not someone was lying or telling the truth… it was very useful in caring missions. She cleared her throat and softly bleated, "I can't leave my family."

"Of course you can't," No Heart answered calmly, "You do not have to leave your family. However, they must not learn by all means. This would be more for your sake than mine."

The Carebear cousin looked at the ground, wondering how she was being talked into all of this. She suddenly heard something further into the fog along with No Heart. They both looked toward it, No Heart more suddenly. She could feel the muscles in his coils tense, and then he faced her once again and said quickly, "I am aware that you may change your mind. However, if you do not, you know where to find me."

He adjusted his coils so she would gently slide off and then disappeared into the trees above. Along with his disappearance, the fog began clear very quickly. Gentle Heart stood silent for a moment, wondering what just had happened as the voice grew clearer.

"Gentle Heart? Gentle!"

She recognized it as a familiar cousin. At that moment, Playful Heart came running over panting. He saw Gentle Heart and skidded to a halt. He bent over, breathing heavily. "Gentle…Heart… who was that… with you?"

She opened her mouth, her first reaction to say 'No Heart,' but found herself surprisingly deciding against it. Instead, she shuffled her foot on the ground. "No one was with me. Why are you here?"

Playful Heart finally caught his breath enough to stand up. He raised an eyebrow. "I was coming home from Care-A lot but got lost in the trees in this fog. Then I heard you talking to someone. I could've sworn it was…"

Gentle Heart shook her head. "You were hearing things."

Then the monkey cousin seemed to think of something. "Why are you out here? I thought you had a picnic with Brave Heart and everyone else."

She nodded. "I did. I was going home and got a little lost. I guess I should be on my way."

Playful Heart hopped forward, wrapping his tail around a tree branch and dangling down. "It's getting' late. I'll walk you home."

Gentle Heart nodded. "Okay. That's nice of you, Playful Heart."

He hopped down with a grin. "No problem!"

Thanks to Gentle Heart running through the Forest of Feelings, it was only a longer walk to her house. Playful Heart was his usually perky self, finding amusement in everything he did, even something as simple as kicking a rock. Gentle Heart, on the other hand, had an opposite mood. Her thoughts were on the offer No Heart had made her. She was still very unsure of what to do. Playful Heart seemed to detect this emotion and took a pause from kicking the rock. "Are you okay?"

She looked up, brought back into reality and nodded. "Yeah."

Playful Heart thought a moment. "It isn't about that caring mission, is it?"
Gentle Heart sighed. She seemed to have forgotten it over the past days. The monkey cousins realized his mistake and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry for bringing it up. I didn't know that it was that bad."

She looked up, forcing herself to smile though it said the opposite of what she really felt. "It's nothing."

Playful Heart raised an eyebrow, very well knowing that she wasn't telling the truth. He knew that Gentle Heart was always the quiet one and didn't talk very openly about her feelings, but now he wasn't sure what to say. Every Carebear and cousin had a different personality, and a different way to express themselves, but Gentle Heart was complicated with how she expressed herself. He looked guiltily at the ground. "Okay then…"

Gentle Heart looked up, surprised to see that her home was just ahead. The time had passed much faster than she thought it had. The two reached the small path that entered into her garden, which looked ever more radiant underneath the moon's light. Gentle and Playful Heart stopped to say their goodbyes.

"Thanks," Gentle Heart said softly.

Playful Heart grinned. "No problem. I needed the exercise."

She turned to start walking before Playful Heart decided to say something else and lightly grabbed her arm. She stopped and looked at him. He looked at his feet, tailing swishing as if out of nervous habit. Gentle Heart waited for him to say something, and he finally looked up from his feet. "You know you could tell me anything, right?"

She nodded. "Yes…"

"Okay, just making sure," Playful Heart said rather suddenly, and bounded off, waving behind him before jumping into a tree. "Good night!"

Gentle Heart also gave him a small wave before heading back to her home. That seemed a bit out of character for him. Heading inside of her home, she went straight to her bed before brushing her teeth or having a night snack. She would have a lot of thinking to do tomorrow.