Chapter 13

Flora asked Diego if she could go "on a walk" during the noon.

"Of course you can honey." was Diego's reply. "As long as you're not seeing Sam, which I know you aren't. And remember to be back by curfew."

"Thanks Daddy!" chirped Flora, licking her father's cheek. She then went off.

"Don't you think that Flora is hiding something from you?" questioned Manny looking kind of suspicious. Diego just shrugged it off.

"Manny, Shira and I both made an oath that as soon as the kids become young adults, they get treated like young adults. Don't revert back to your old ways on your niece."

"Okay, it's your parenting."

Where is he? Flora thought to herself as she waited for Sam. Did he forget? Did he maybe not want to see her anymore? What if he got scared of Diego's over protectiveness that he decided it was best to stop there?

"Hey, sorry I'm late." panted Sam running to Flora. "It took a little while to get what I had to do done."

"It's fine. It's only been a few minutes." said Flora. They took a look at the mist that was surrounding them.

"Wow. That's some crazy mist." chuckled Flora.

"Yeah." agreed Sam. He looked at Flora, completely hypnotized by her beauty. All the mist around the saberess made her look mesmerizing, head to toe. Her fur blew at the wind caused by all the mist and went with the flow.

"Sam, you okay?" asked Flora, seeing his lost expression. He finally snapped out of it.

"Oh yeah, yeah, I'm fine." replied Sam. "The mist really gets to me. Hey, you wanna see the view?"

"Sure."

The two of them climbed up the rocks and faced the entire island at the bottom of their paws.

"It's so amazing. I can see my cave from there." sighed Flora. "Can you see yours?"

"Not really. It's not that big enough to see. Come on, I'll show you."

Sam jumped down with Flora following. A few minutes later, they arrived at the location.

"Here we are. Home sweet home." presented Sam. "Sort of."

Flora looked around their surroundings. It was neither big nor small. It was pretty much average with patches of grass and a tiny cave to sleep in.

"So this is where you live?" asked Flora.

"Yeah I know it's not the best looking place to live in, but I try to make it work." replied Sam a little embarrassed by the place's lack of character. "But whenever you need me, you know where to find me now. This place actually looks better during the night when the stars come out. In fact, this is the best spot for star gazing."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Just look at the sky." Sam nodded up to the sky, motioning Flora to look up, which she did. Up there was the colors of the sunset. Pink, orange, yellow, and a tiny tint of blue were mixed together.

"Nearly sunset." sighed Flora miserably. "I should probably get going." but then, she caught sight of it.

"Well, I can stay a little bit longer to watch the sunset. I love doing it."

"Yeah me too. Will your parents be okay with it?" asked Sam.

"They'll be fine. The worst they'll do is just nag me for being like ten minutes late." the girl sat down next to Sam.

"Pretty starry night huh?" asked Sid as he and Manny were out for guy's night. "Most starriest starry night I've ever seen in my life. Yes sir, starry night. Hey that would be a great name for a painting or something. "Starry Night" I could see it now-"

Manny and Diego were annoyed with Sid's usual chattering, so they paid no attention to his "Starry Night" conversation.

"So where do you suppose Flora is?" asked Manny feeling somewhat suspicious about his niece's whereabouts.

"I suppose that she's back in our cave just like she was supposed to be an hour ago, all curled up, sleeping soundly." replied Diego coolly and casually.

"How can you be so sure of that Diego? Teenagers always got something on their minds that they keep from their parents."

"Not if you show them some trust and don't be a safety freak over them."

"Don't you think you're trusting Flora a little too much? I'm sure that she's going to start rebelling sooner or later."

"Manny, rebellion is the last thing on Flora's mind. You'll see."

With that, Diego walked away.

"I can't believe him." grumbled Manny. "How can he not be concerned about what Flora is doing?"

"Buddy, I think you're just jealous because Diego's kids listen to him more than Peaches did to you." said Sid, earning a big bonk on the head from Manny.

"Shut up Sid."

"I'd say this one kind of looks like a wolf." pointed Flora. She and Sam were laying down looking at the clear, night sky, scattered with millions of stars that sparkled like diamonds. They were pointing out the designs that the stars seemed to form to each other.

"Really? How?." squinted Sam.

"It's right there. See, here's the nose, the legs, the tail."

"Oh yeah. I see it now." Sam browsed the sky looking for some more patterns. He found the perfect one.

"Hey Flora, this one looks like you." acknowledged Sam.

"What?" said Flora confused.

"It really does. It's got the stripes, the nose. Those big, sparkling eyes."

"You're right." chuckled Flora. She was having fun and all, but she felt like she was forgetting something(BIG TIME!)

"This is so awesome. Who knew that the stars would come out so quick after sunset?"

"Yeah, sunset." nodded Flora. Sunset. SUNSET! It finally came to her. She was supposed to be long home by now!

"Oh no." gasped Flora

OHHH, Flora, you stayed past curfew! Well in her defense, it was a pretty, starry night. Will she be able to make it home before anyone finds out? More importantly, before Diego finds out? Keep a lookout and be on top of your alert lists to find out!