Sakura's Journey Chapter 23 Anxious Day
I awoke to the sunlight streaming through the curtains. Sighing, I allowed my senses to awaken along with my mind. I could hear the sound of Sarah's gentle breathing by my side. I sensed the auras of the many people that had decided to reside within our humble home as we awaited the return of the children. I smiled. They should be out of that forest today. My smile fadded though, as I remembered I had to go to work today. I worked in the morning though, and they would most likely be making it out of the Pinemount woodlands in the evening. I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I smiled as I saw Sarah's serene smile. I stroked her long brown hair gently and extended to her the calming static of my mind. My smile widened as she nuzzled her face deeper into the pillow. I stood up and walked over to the mirror.
So many conflicting emotions swarmed my dark mind. I slowly rubbed my neck, thinking of the one who was currently wearing my scarf. Her scarf now... I then turned to my hair. I, being a man, had short hair of course. It was horribly tangled. I couldn't even begin to imagine what poor little Kura must be going through. She'll be back soon. The thought made me smile again and I got ready and left the room. I passed by the living room and saw Dill, snoring as he slept peacefully on the couch. I didn't see Fred, but I sensed his aura. I came across him in the hallway, as he was exiting the kitchen with a steaming mug of coffee, which he almost dropped. "Woah didn't hear you comin' man." I nodded and walked past him, inwardly laughing. I enjoyed it when I startled people, I must admit. I was a slender after all. I continued, mostly lost in thought, out the door and off to work.
It also amused me how my coworkers at the clinic were all dumbfounded by how great I was at handling and healing the animals. They called me a miracle worker, the best vet in the business. I looked out the window of my car, extending a single tendrill. I gazed at it and smiled. Silly humans.
(Sakura's P.O.V.)
I was currently sitting in silence, in my slender form, eating slowly. The fire's warmth reached me, warming my numb and white skin. Not like it wasn't supposed to be white at the moment... You'll understand I had to hunt again. It felt so wrong. I played with my scarf, thinking of my dad. Thinking of how he was a vet, who's job was to save animals. Thinking of how he used his powers to heal them. And here I was, using my powers to kill them... It was for our survival though. I was, indeed, horribly thin. Far more than the others. I found comfort in the presence of Daemon and Squible. The little squirrel still cared for me, sitting on my shoulder and rubbing his head on the side of my blank face. He had finally fully gotten used to my other appearence. Daemon was sitting at my left, leaning slightly against me. I had wrapped a tendrill around him, and an other one reached to his hand. Ever since we had decided to...kiss...in front of Johnny, we had nothing to hide. I felt pure joy building in me at the thought that people still loved me even if I was this monster. I was actually proud of being a slender now.
Johnny sat across the fire, helping Juan cook a piece of turkey. The turkey I killed... I tried to not think of it. I looked back to my scarf, thinking back. My dad had gone hunting before in his life too. If anything, he'd be proud of me... After we were done eating, we packed our things and resumed our long walk. I shrunk back down, allowing my hair to fall back on my shoulder in severely matted locks. God I needed a hairbrush. Not even, I needed a whole team of hair stylists. Squible quickly burrowed his way into my hair. We walked so long along the trees and boulders and streams of this forest. The other's feet were crunching along the ground loudly. Mine no longer made noise. Johnny noticed. "Hey, kid! You're all ninja master like your dad now." I smiled and giggled at his coment. Johnny was a lot of fun. I thought back to the days when we were little. When I was six and Daemon was five. We'd go to the park and Johnny would play with us like if he was a kid too. Those were good memories.
I also remembered other things at that time. I had just turned six, the age my dad had told me some slenders grew their tendrills. I was so excited, looking at my back in the mirror every single day. I gave up after a while. I stopped believing after age 8. Now here I was...
Juan still carelessly ran around. Daemon and Johnny had spoken about it, the junior of the pair relaying his conversation to me after. We didn't know what to do with the kid. He was a foreigner, he'd been here two years and didn't even remember his own last name. It was most likely that we simply wouldn't find his parents. I was surprised at how endurant he was. Even Daemon had complained about his feet several times and I was somewhat tired. I kept walking though. We should be out later today!
What I'm assuming is maybe an hour later, Johnny excalimed. "I remember this boulder! I remember it clearly! We're almost there!" I was suddently filled with anticipation. We'll be out! We'll finally be out! I thought of my dad, my mom, my warm bed, eating at the dinner table, showers each night, playing with the cats, the few occasions dad would bring an animal from the clinic to the house for a night. I'll be back soon. I smiled widely and Daemon took my hand in his. It didn't matter if his dad could hear us anymore. He knew anyway. "So, Kura...are we together now?" I fiddled with a strand of my hair nervously. I could feel a knot in the pit of my stomach. "I...I really don't know...I want to but..." "But?" "I'm scared..." I looked away, feeling a slight tension from his aura. I knew I probably turned the whole air tense though, I was also stressed with everything. He spoke again. "Scared of what?" I smiled, and then laughed at the irony that I had long and sharpened fangs, but was scared of something so silly. I answered him anyway, looking away as I did, feeling uncomfortable. "I'm...scared because...because...if we, y'know, break up. I don't want to lose you as a friend. You're my best friend! You're my only real friend..." When I dared to look back to his emerald eyes, I saw that they were threatening to release tears. "Kura...we'll always be friends, no matter what." I smiled up to him, reaching out my other hand. "Promise?" He looked to it briefly before smiling as well and taking it in his free hand, shaking it. "Promise!" Johnny and Juan were looking at us the whole time, smiling.
Finally, we all paused when we heard a sound. It was familiar, but seemed very distant in my mind. It was a sign of civilization, just not one I expected. "Hey get back here ya dumb critter!" An orangish brown goat broke through the tree line, followed by an angry looking farmer. I did my best to block the animal as the farmer reclaimed it. Finally, he seemed to notice us. "What are you folk doin' out here in the woods? And why y'all so dirty?" We all looked at the man in awe. A person. A real, living person. One who knew where we were. Johnny finally found the voice to speak. "We...We've been lost out here sir, for two weeks." The farmer's eyes widened. "Two weeks?! Well get over here y'all, your troubles are over!" We gladly followed the man back to a large corn field. Johnny interrupted the man. "Can you point us to the nearest road, I have a friend who can pick us up in one spot. I just need to call for him. We didn't have a signal out in the woods." The farmer set down his goat and looked at us again. "I'll make y'all some soup before though. You're too skinny, all of you, especially her." He pointed at me. "That ain't good for city folk. You can phone your buddy after." We agreed and went with him. A house! I'd be going back into an actual house! And we'd be out of here in probably not even an hour.
HEEEEEEEY Y'AAAAALLLLL! I just love writting chapters in Tom's P.O.V., even if I only have two XD It's just like... Woaaaaaaah complex words O_o but yeah, he's meant to be a genius, he'll be shown as one and he'll narrate as one. This fanfic is getting closer to the end! I hope you all keep reading! Next chapters will be up soon.