Mateless and Home Bound

Chapter 66: Till We Meet Again

It was sunny, but they still had candles lit up around the area. It added a little twinkle to the day as they flickered. That, along with some decorations and winter flowers added some color to the dull day.

It was a sad day in the forest. Even the wind seemed remorseful as they all stood in the rich dirt. Thankfully it wasn't going to snow that day. He was worried that it was going to. Knowing Sage, he was going to freeze to death if that happened. The boy kept strong as he gave the memorial speech about his grandma.

He would sure miss Agatha. She would always nag at him about the silliest things. She was the type of person who acted like she was the oldest, no matter who you were. But, at the same time, there was always a youthfulness to her. It shined in her bright eyes. They weren't exactly like Sage. Her eyes were a bit darker. But Sage still looked a lot like her. He was the last Vanett, the end of the family of guardians for the forest.

It wasn't a bad thing. Actually, it seemed as if Agatha's job was getting easier as time passed. Now the role of guarding the forest was passed down to this pack instead of just that family. Now that he had gotten to learn more about them, he wasn't worried about that. They had some decent fighters. And there was usually a reason why Star Children are brought into packs. He could at least rest assured that they would be protected.

"It'll be okay, Squirt," he chuckled as he hugged the kid that ran up to him back. He would forever see him as a kid. He still acted like one. "We'll see each other again."

"This isn't fair, you know," Sage held him tight. "You aren't supposed to leave on me this quickly."

"You have everything you need, Squirt," he told him. "And I'm just a phone call away. It's Glinda and Dakota that are still stuck in the dark ages."

"I'm going to miss getting something to eat with you."

"Well, if you ever stop by the city, I'll make sure to have a new restaurant for the both of us to try together," he told him. "How about that?"

It was sad that Sage was going to be so far from where he lived now, but it was for the best. At least here he had a bunch of people to protect him. Snake was a good fighter, but he was just one person against all the other enemies that Star Children always attracted. Here he could have a good life with people who loved him and would protect him. It was something that Agatha would have loved to see.

Come to think of it, he could have sworn that the old hag knew that Sage and Reggie were going to wind up together. She talked about the two of them all the time, it was another reason why he made sure to remember the name. He never stepped foot in that school, just because of the controversy that would cause. He knew plenty of the higher ups there, but that was another story, for another day.

There were a lot of memories he had with Agatha, though. He remembered hearing about when Sage was first born, seeing him for the first time when they came to his city for a visit. He remembered when she was just a young witch that Glinda was trying to teach the ropes to. She was never overconfident with magic. Her calm demeanor always helped bring out the best magic around. She did a lot to keep the peace in this forest before it was finally under control of someone again.

Because of her calm demeanor and her kind heart, she was able to protect Sage, and Charlie when he came as well. He wished that she didn't have to die. If they had known about the dangers before, they could have all fought to keep the hunters away before they even laid a finger on the old woman.

But life doesn't like to work the easy way. Sometimes, if you were lucky, it did. Sometimes it was as easy as just putting your foot forward and marching on. Most of the time, though, the ground was quick sand and you had to somehow keep a level head and find your way out of things.