Thanks to all of you who got this far, especially for the reviews. There will be a sequel because I love Sable and Bluey too much to end their story :)

Chapter 12

It was almost noon, and Ruby and Elia had been starving.

And they were still lost.

The two young women treaded the forests with more caution ever since the alacat almost attacked them. Ruby however grew paranoid and couldn't help letting her imagination carry her to vicious bears and other predators lurking in the Ajar Forest.

"Let's play a game," Elia said drawing the younger's girl attention away from her thoughts.

"What a great way to kill time," the red-haired remarked dryly. "I'll go first then." Hmm, Ruby thought. What should I ask her though? An idea finally appeared in her head. "What will be the last thing you would do before you die?"

"Umm…" Elia replied hesitatingly.

"What you say must be perfectly true," added the red-haired girl who was grinning. "If you lie, then you lose the game."

Elia gazed at Ruby in such a way that it made the red-haired girl feel strange. "If that's the case…" the warrioress began with hesitation, "then before I die… I want to spend my last moment with you."

The warrioress said it with such a straight face that it embarrassed the younger girl. Ruby quickly looked away to hide her embarrassment, but she couldn't stop the blush escaping her face. "You're… just trying to make me feel better," she stammered.

Elia didn't move her eyes away. "I'm serious, Ruby. You asked for the truth, so that's my answer."

"Then, that's what I want too before I die," Ruby replied turning to look at the warrioress. She didn't know what she was saying, but it felt right. She received a warm smile from Elia.

The intimacy broke when they spotted figures walking toward them in the distance. Could it be Sable? Before Ruby's mind could process the thoughts, Elia gently grabbed her hand. "Come on."

Bluey was sleeping like a rock in the Sable's arms throughout the walk. Sable had a small conversation with Colin about his life in Serendi. When she was about to tell him about her grandma, they spotted Elia and Ruby sprinting towards them. Sable stared curiously at their hands which were held together.

"Sable!" Elia said as she caught her breath. "We've finally found you. Who's this guy?" she asked moving her eyes to Colin. It looked like he was hiding behind the ranger; he was greatly terrified by the warrioress and her tall hooded companion. "Wait. He's that fur trapper!" It took less than a second for Elia and Ruby to whisk their weapons out, and Colin shrunk back behind the ranger for protection.

"He's not an enemy," Sable began coolly as she stroked the sleeping cub's fur. "He took care of Bluey while I was gone."

Ruby and Elia stared at the alacat that she was petting, and they sheathed their weapons back. They apologized to him.

"It's all right," Colin replied as he recovered. "I expected this. I was on the wrong side before, but now I learned my lesson." He told the two young women what had happened when he had been with Tyrell and Cathan.

"You aren't going to put a bounty on her head, right?" Ruby asked piercing her green eyes at him.

Colin shook his head violently. "No, I won't! I wouldn't do such a thing. I'm kind of glad that they're dead."

Sable stopped stroking Bluey. "A bounty on my head?" she asked quizzically. "What's that?"

"A bounty hunt is when someone goes after a certain person that is wanted. If the bounty hunter finishes the task, they get paid," Elia replied. "Most of the time, the employer either wants the hunter to bring back the person alive or dead."

"Hmm… that's very interesting." Sable could never imagine anyone going after her however. She was too careful and tricky to let that happen. "Thanks for sticking with me," Sable said as she glanced at Elia, Ruby, and then Colin. "Do you want to leave now?"

Ruby and Elia glanced at each other. "Actually," Elia spoke, "we would like to eat something first before we leave."

Sable's stomach started to rumble; she was hungry as well.

They sat down together in the tree cavern. There was enough room just for everyone to join together to eat the fresh, cooked deer that was recently hunted. Elia, Ruby, and Colin told stories about their past and plans for their future. The red-haired girl offered Colin to work with her father in his weapon shop, but he kindly declined. Meanwhile, Sable was watching Bluey gobble ravenously on the raw venison. She wondered what it tasted like to eat meat raw.

After the alacat cub finished eating, she stretched her body and gazed up at her human mother. Sable chuckled at the cub that ate so messy. Blood stains were all over Bluey's face and paws, but she started to groom herself to clean it off.

"What about you, Sable?" Elia asked. "Will you ever travel out the forest?"

Sable glanced up at the warrioress and shrugged. "Who knows?" She had been to town back when her grandma was alive, but it could never compare to the forest—what she called home. The ranger felt satisfied when she surrounded herself in Nature, and she preferred being with animals rather than humans. But if she told them that, they would never understand the ranger's perception.

When Sable escorted the three to the entrance of the forest, Ruby offered her to come over to Serendi. "You can find Elia and me under the name of Jaden Royce, my father. Please do visit us sometime."

The ranger smiled at her. "I'll see." She glanced at Colin and gave him a nod of recognition. He timidly waved his hand goodbye as he left the Ajar Forest with the two together.

Sable was now left with Bluey in her arms, and she placed the squirming cub down. Bluey padded beside Sable as they headed back to the tree cavern. Meanwhile, the ranger's dark brown eyes softened as she gazed up at the clear blue sky. Two birds were soaring together in the air which made a smile escape her lips.

"Thank you, grandma," Sable whispered. A light breeze touched her cheek.

A monarch butterfly swooped over them, and Bluey's eyes dilated with excitement. She jumped up to catch the butterfly in her paws, but the monarch butterfly slipped out of her grasp. It taunted the cub as it fluttered ahead. The alacat cub chased after the butterfly, and Sable sprinted after the cub. "Wait up, Bluey!" she called out as her laugh echoed in the Ajar Forest.