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Rhea nodded. "Should we take her with us to the river?" she asked. "We can water her right away then, and she can start growing right away!"

Her entire face was beaming as she looked at Cindy.


"Then hopefully she'll be fine growing up in a forest and living here," Adonai smiled. "Though I suppose she wouldn't really be used to one thing or another, not being born yet. Still, animals are bred for certain terrains, and it's best if they live in the terrain they were bred for."

"Okay!" Rhea said happily, running out of the room again, pot in hand. She scooped up the branch and fluffball once she was in the hall again, then headed towards the stairs once more. "Come on!" she urged Cindy. "I want her to grow as fast as she can!"

And she started down the stairs as fast as her feet would take her.


"Now there's a thought," Adonai mused. "Come to think of it, I've never seen Saki try to hunt anything, in all the times I've been there. On the other hand, the ranch has no troubles with mice ... maybe they're afraid of her anyways. I'll keep an eye open for that - though I would imagine it might be a little while before we can even find that out, won't it?"

Rhea left the front door open behind her so that Cindy wouldn't have to open it again (since she was pretty much right behind her anyways) and headed around the house once more, still clutching the branch and the pot as tightly as her little hands could.

"So about a month, our time," Adonai nodded. "Since your weeks are longer than ours, but your months are shorter."

"In time for our trip?" Shael asked her husband quietly.

Adonai shrugged. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Though with Rhea learning the staff now, perhaps it would be best that we wait until next summer after all. Your brother and sister will understand. After all, it's best that Rhea have a better control of her magic before we go anywhere with her anyways - especially to a big city where there will be thousands of magic users in one place."

It would be like a magical smorgasbord for Rhea's abilities.

Adonai chuckled softly and held his hands out for the cookies. "Thank you very much," he said warmly. "Be sure to tell your parents hello for us, won't you?"

He was startled suddenly as Rhea rushed past them, heading towards the river, and as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone.

Shael smiled after Rhea and moved closer to Adonai and Lin. "And be sure to thank your mother for the cat," she added. "I think it's safe to say that Rhea is thrilled for the opportunity to take care of someone."

"Goodbye for now," Adonai smiled at Lin, waving as she headed off.

Shael laughed softly. "It looks like Rhea's going to be having quite a day ... between a new pet to care for, and the cookies, it will be a miracle if she goes to sleep tonight."

Adonai chuckled. "Well, let's just head inside for now and put the cookies away. Maybe we can bribe her or something."

Rhea fell to her knees at the river's edge and carefully held the branch upright in the pot. With her free hand she dug her fingers into the rich soil of the riverbank and pulled it up, dumping it into the pot.

"Help me, Cindy!" she exclaimed gleefully as her teacher drew nearer.

Once there was enough dirt to hold up the branch, Rhea let go of it and used both hands to scoop it up. Once the pot was nearly full, she patted it all down and grinned up at Cindy. "Now we water it, right?" she asked brightly. "How much?"

She scooted down to the river and cupped her hands in the water, then hurried back up to where Cindy and the pot were waiting. "This much? Or more?"

"Okay," Rhea grinned, pouring the water into the pot. She watched as it disappeared into the soil, then wiped her hands on her skirt and picked up the pot again.

"Where should I keep her?" she asked. "In my room, I mean."