Departure

Rays of sunlight crept onto Reyes's face as he lay out along Snow's back…

He had decided to sleep outside through the night in a conscious effort not to disturb his brother.

With a long stretch, he poked Melony awake and slid down to the ground.

Snow remained sound asleep, his long tongue forming a small puddle in the grass from his saliva. Not wanting to wake him up, they decided to just go up into the treehouse.

Much to their surprise, Leezy and Saphira were already awake.

They were sitting across from each other in deep conversation. His brother was already suited back up in his armor, save for his helmet which sat beside a potion on the table between them.

"Ehemmm.."

Reyes loudly cleared his throat and interrupted their conversation, grinning at his brother when they acknowledged him.

"So, you two had some fun last night huh? Poor Melony here thought we were getting attacked. I thought I'd have to come up here and do some serious damage to you two savages, causing such a commotion in this peaceful forest."

"Shut up...Saphira managed to create a new potion based off mom's elixir for us to use while yall were sleeping."

Leezy pulled the potion off the table across from him and tossed it to Reyes. In the sunlight, the purple liquid contained inside of it gleamed with an otherworldly glow.

"Color me impressed, how effective is it? Hopefully you tested it on yourself after the work my brother gave you."

With a grin on his face, Reyes put the potion back on the table while looking at Saphira. Her face became a mess of emotions while Leezy just glared at him.

Taking the time to recompose herself, she completely ignored his comment.

"W-well, it won't be as effective as your mother's elixir, but it should be able to heal any wounds that aren't lethal. It should also be able to cure a wide array of afflictions, from poison to petrification."

"Sounds good to me. We should really get going now shouldn't we brother? I get that you want to be with your new girlfriend, but we have things to do."

"Go ahead and make one more slick comment. I'll punch you in your fucking chest so hard your diaphragm will fuse with your lungs!"

Leezy slammed his fist into the palm of his hand and cracked his knuckles, glaring at Reyes.

He relished the fact he could tease his brother and returned his glare with a wide grin.

"I fixed up some food for you all to eat on your travels…it's boxed up and ready for you all. That potion along with a few other things have been packed as well, they are waiting in the spare room. If there is anything more I can do to help, please let me know..."

Saphira wanted their travel to be as stress free as possible so she had decided to prepare what she could for them.

Deep down she wanted to go with them, but knew she had to stay and guard the lake. If she left the forest unattended, who knows what could happen to it in her absence.

"Thank you, we appreciate everything you have done for us."

Acknowledging her effort, Reyes walked into the room and returned with 3 medium sized backpacks made entirely from vines and leaves. The craftsmanship they were made with was of very high level considering the materials they were made of. That alone spoke volumes about how skilled Saphira truly was.

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye..."

Leezy walked over to Saphira and hugged her. Without admitting it, he wished he could stay but the desire to do battle was gnawing away at him.

Even if that weren't the case, his journey was always full of danger so it would be best for her to stay in familiar territory, rather than be killed as a result of his own selfishness.

She returned his gaze and after what seemed like an eternity of silence, finally leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.

"Ewwww!"

Laughing at Melony's disgust, Reyes pat Melony on the head as Leezy separated from Saphira and threw his helmet on.

"If I don't kill you two before the end of this journey, consider me a saint."

Leezy's comment made Reyes laugh even harder as he watched his brother storm out in silence.

"Sorry he is such as hard-ass, he isn't used to showing much emotion. I'm sure that deep down inside, he doesn't want to leave you, but it would be much safer for you to stay here rather than travel with us. As you could probably tell, we have a walking target on our back."

Nodding, she hugged Reyes silently and helped him carry the packs down to the lake.

Leezy met them down below, staring at the mass of sleeping fur next to him. Upon seeing Snow, Saphira nearly dropped the pack she was carrying in surprise.

"Oh yeah Miss Saphira, I forgot to tell you that I named Mister Wolfie. His new name is Snow! After I named him, he grew and even spoke to me!"

Hearing Melony's voice, Snow opened his eyes, stood up, and stretched.

"Good morning Melony, are we going to depart now?"

"Yeah, do you think you can carry these packs for us Snow?"

"Of course."

Craning his head down, Snow scooped all 3 packs into his mouth and slung them onto his back. With their packs stowed, the group climbed up onto Snow and together they swiftly departed into the tree-line.

Saphira tried to hold back her tears as she waved them off. Try as she might, they still forced their way down her face while she stared at the back of Leezy's shrinking back.