Sakura's Journey Chapter 20 A Warm Fire
As night fell on that one night of safety, that one night following the moment my father had found us, we all let out a sigh of relief. Fire! My dad could light a fire. He also had two tents with him. I'd be in the same tent as my dad and Kura would go with Juan and Squible. For now though, we all sat around the flickering flames, enjoying the scent of the soup my dad was cooking. His hair had also lost it's dyed colors. Yet, I don't think anybody required a hair styling as much as Sakura did. It looked like she had some kind of horrible accident with electricity! Her fluffy brown hair was heavily matted, but she didn't seem to care about it right now. Her eyes were fixated on the warm flames. She held out her hands, breathing in and closing her hazel-grey eyes. I'm not sure if she realized she was doing it, but the whole surrounding air radiated with a certain serene feel, generated by her aura. She clearly didn't know how to control that yet... I knew it wasn't normal for me to be able to constantly pick up on her aura. I had been close to her dad a lot and it didn't do that. I'm guessing it's because she's new at this.
She's a slender...she's not even human... I had known this all my life, just as I had known her all my life. I had started to gain feelings for her by the time I was ten years old. Seeing her gain all her powers, it somewhat frightened me, but it also brought me to a new level of admiration. I had felt so worried that one day, about two weeks ago, when I had found her on the ground there, during what had started as a simple game of hide-and-seek. I had witnessed her first transformation... It was startling. My eyes were brought back up, mind returning to reality, as a bowl of hot soup was set in front of me. I smiled in gratitude, looking into my father's hazel-green eyes. He sat by my side and I snuggled against him. I had missed him so much. From across the fire, Sakura looked at us. She was fiddling with her striped scarf, showing slight sorrow. She wanted her dad... She wanted to be held. Juan, however, didn't seem bothered at all. He was gulping down the soup like some kind of rabbid animal who hadn't eaten in months!
As my dad set up the tents, seeing as the sky was already growing dark, I went over by Kura's side. "So... now what?" I knew she understood what I meant. She blushed and rubbed the back of her neck nervously, something I had noticed her dad do. "I...I honestly don't know. I'm not sure about this." She looked away, the fire's light reflecting in her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her, enjoying her proximity. I pretended not to care when I noticed my dad looking over at us, raising a brow. I did, however, jump back scared when a section of Sakura's hair moved and something attacked my head. I shouted and fell back, only then noticing that Squible had been hiding in her hair and decided to jump up on me. Everyone stared in silence for a bit before Sakura started laughing. Soon, everyone else joined the chorus of laughter. I looked around, feeling embarassed, but soon found myself grinning too. I laughed myself, slowly standing up. Squible peeked down at me from the top of my head, looking as though he was very pleased with the jumpscare he gave me. "Aw, shut-it you squirrel. That's the last time I try to be sweet." I pouted and turned around, knowing it did nothing as the foe was on top of my own head. Kura giggled, taking the squirrel of my head and gently holding him in her arms, stroking his back softly.
I smiled for half a second, then remembered I was supposed to be offended. I turned around again and pouted. My dad looking at me and shaking his head while grinning. As we were about to duck into our tents for the night, I wished a good night to Kura. "You too...we're finally gonna get out of here!" I smiled brightly and turned around, only to have her flick my hood over my head with one of her tendrills. "Kura!" She laughed and dissapeared into her tent. I went in mine, my dad holding the door open for me. As I laid down, wrapping myself in a blanket, first night I spent with a blanket in so long, my dad adressed me. "So, it seems you and Sakura have gotten pretty close...anything happen while you guys were gone?" My eyes snapped open and I think I probably redened a lot. "Uh...n-nothing important..." My dad chuckled a bit before lying down himself. "Riiiiiiight... You're as good of a liar as your parents are." I ground my teeth and ducked my head under the blanket, fully embarassed. I lowered myself even further in shame with his next sentence. "I don't get what the thing is with liking the kid with tentacles...it's cool and all, but a little freaky." "Daaaaad...you know they can probably hear us, right?" To confirm my words, I heard Sakura's muffled laughter from the tent next to ours. I was officially the most embarassed I had been in my life...
(Sarah's P.O.V.)
Phone call after phone call after phone call...I had made so many phone calls. My mom, my dad, Tom's parents, Angie's mom, Dill... Sakura was coming back. It would take them maybe an other 3 or 4 days to reach the point where Johnny had begun his journey. I thought of sending Tom there to shorten their travel's time by at least a day, but decided against it. It was already a big effort for him to slenderwalk the distance between here and that picnic site with Johnny. He had to bring back the kids too...And I couldn't add any more effort by increasing the distance he had to transport. Angie was still crying, tears of joy this time. Lucifer had picked up on her mood as he was wagging his short little tail, hopping around, begging to play. Tom had taken up the responsibility of playing with him, tossing an old tenis ball across the living room. The thundering sound of the animal's running reminded me of the times Kura was younger. She'd dress up like a superhero and run around the house, claiming she was flying.
I smiled at the memory. She wouldn't be as innocent as before when she came back, that I knew, but she would be back. I walked across the living room, avoiding the running dog and struggling not to trip when he decided to make me his target. I finally made it to the couch, sitting between my best friend and the love of my life. If I had my daughter here too, I would trully feel complete, but the simple thought of her return made me overjoyed. Tom was also incredibly happy, as it was obvious in his aura. The open television actually buzzed a bit in static at the sheer power of his aura. He couldn't help it. Over time, I had learnt that slenders' auras became more intense the more powerful their emotions were, to the point where they could lose control.
I went to bed that night feeling full of life. Angie was too excited to sleep. She decided to stay on the couch, watching tv until sleep would overcome her. I laid down in bed next to my husband, who was already sleeping, a large grin on his face. I had my head on his chest and his arm was wrapped around me. I did open my eyes again, only a few minutes later, to see he had changed. Poor guy, he couldn't contain his joy. Slenders felt more powerfully than humans did. Their auras was just enough proof of that. Speaking of which, I was feeling a powerful static buzz in the air. It was serene and calmed me. Right as I drifted off to sleep, I felt his tendrills wrap around me.