Chapter Text
When the Great Crumble was just starting, most folks lost their heads a bit. Families struck out at each other, neighbors fought in the grocery stores. A lot of people didn’t know how to go on. But there was one family who, from the very beginning, decided to build instead of fight. So when a very special boy set his sights on Alaska, he started a journey that would take him right through one of the most beautiful places he’d ever seen.
Jep was worried. Their supplies were low, Wendy needed a better coat than the cardigan she habitually wore, and last night they’d slept in the pouring rain so everyone was at least a bit damp. The weather didn’t look to be improving much, either. They were in Washington State, in the autumn, a place some of his fellow players had jokingly said only had two seasons, wet and dry. Hopefully they’d find an old, abandoned barn or something to hole up in tonight, maybe even light a fire to dry some of their clothes off. There were plenty of farms around here, from the look of things.
“Big Man,” Gus asked, “What’s that?”
The kid pointed and Jep followed his finger. What he saw made the big man smile. “That’s a water tower, Sweet Tooth. And if it still works, that’s a very good thing.” Slightly adjusting their course, the group headed for the two tall cylinders perched atop a wooded hill.
The closer they got to those water towers, the more Becky noticed a change. They’d been walking through dilapidated farmhouses and neighborhoods for days now, but here, it didn’t look so worn down. Sure, the road had quite a few potholes and whatnot, but the fences that bordered it were still standing and even had coats of paint. Several of the lawns or fenced-in pastures had short grass, like someone was mowing them. Suddenly, Jep pushed Gus behind him and into the brush at the side of the road. “Someone’s coming.”
Wendy and Gus both got behind Becky and Jep, Wendy with her hood pulled up to hide her ears and scarf covering her nose. Her deer-ish friend tried to make sure his antlers were fully shielded behind the wall of their two human friends. But the sound of bleating made them both curious.
Slowly, Wendy stuck her head out from behind the two protectors and saw a young woman on a bike driving a flock of sheep. “Come on, Kateri,” the woman yelled as she pedaled along one side of the flock. The foursome jolted when a dog burst out of the brush behind the flock and ran along the other side.
“Wait,” Becky whispered. “That’s not a dog.”
“What do you mean, of course it’s a dog.” Jep didn’t know anything else that barked like that.
“Dogs don’t wear dresses,” Wendy observed.
As if to prove her point, the young womans’ partner stood up in a distinctly human manner and cocked their head towards where the four hid. “What is it, Kateri,” the young woman asked. They saw the girl?-Kateri was a girl’s name, Jep was pretty sure - move her arms and bark again. “You sure?” The floppy-eared girl nodded again. The older of the two got off her bike and with a swift instruction to the smaller to keep the sheep together, walked right towards Jep and the others. She stopped in front of the bush they’d taken cover behind and put her hands on her hips. “Hi, I’m Kira. That over there is Kateri, my niece. Are you new?”
Gus bolted from the cover, though Jep tried to grab him and pull him back. “Yes, we’re trying to find my mom. She lives in Alaska, we think.”
The girl, Kira, shifted her gaze between Gus and the cover he’d come out of. “We’re a long way from Alaska, but Mom and Rikardo should have dinner ready soon. You can come if you want, as long as there’s not too many of you.” Then she smiled at Gus. “I’m guessing you won’t mind a couple hybrid kids at the table.” Gus shook his head and looked back towards Wendy and the others.
Cautiously, the three other travelers came out onto the road, Jep standing proud with crossed arms and Wendy with her face and ears on display. Kira just grinned at them. “We’re having Ratatouille with eggs and cheese tonight. Try to keep up.” She hopped back on her bike and rode to where her niece circled the flock a little further the way the two had headed. Becky and Jep looked uncertainly at each other, but Wendy and Gus ran after her with little hesitation.
When Jep finally caught up with the flock, the scene he beheld took his breath away. On one side of the gravel road, a forest of small saplings with short grass and no brush under the trees was fenced all the way around. On the other side, an orchard, lovingly tended, was heavy with apples and pears and also fenced. But before the road vanished into the thicker woods he saw going up the hill, a huge house stood. Three-fourths of it were built like a log cabin, with the middle section resembling one of the houses from before the crumble, complete with a detached garage off to one side. Piano music drifted out of the open window and smoke rose from the chimney as the two girls unlocked the fenced forest and let the sheep inside to graze. The sense of peace washed over Jep and lowered his shoulders, raised his head. Becky gave a soft sigh. When he looked over at her, she’d raised one hand to her mouth, her eyes shining.
Then the doors to the big house opened and two more kids came out towards Kateri, the little dog-hybrid who’d herded the sheep. Except the bigger one bolted towards her on all fours with a long furry tail keeping their balance, and the other spread wings, about three times bigger than the child was tall, and flew. A woman in a plain cream-colored shirt ran out of the house after them. “Kira, Kateri! You’re back!”
Gus watched as the little boy with wings whistled and chirped at the furrier girl, bobbing his head and shaking it by turns. “ what’s he doing?”
The older human girl looked at him with a smile that seemed like a tiny warning. “Sam can’t speak and his hands are a part of his wings. So he uses whistles and head movements to talk.”
“That’s so cool!” Becky found a new respect for this family. “But he understands us when we talk, right?”
“Yes,” said the woman who reached them from the porch. “He’s just as smart as any seven year old. That gonna be a problem?”
“Nope,” Gus piped up. “We had a friend like that. His hands were webbed, though.”
As if to prove his statement, Wendy walked up to the trio of hybrids and said while signing, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Wendy.”
The feline hybrid, another little girl and the youngest of the bunch, said and signed, “my name is Trisha.”
“Me Kateri,” the older furry girl signed, first finger spelling her name, then showing her name sign. She made a k with her fingers, then snapped them twice, the sign for dog.
The winged boy made an s sound, then whistled sharply. He hunched his back and scooped his wingtips behind him. It almost looked like he was trying to give a piggyback ride. “That means Sam,” Trisha explained. “Aunt Tori says we’ll find out why when we’re older.” Then she looked back at the furry shepherdess. “Grandma’s inside making dinner. She made popsicles for dessert tonight!”
Kateri barked joyfully and ran inside the house.
Jep stared after her. “How do you guys have popsicles? The electricity is down.”
“We have a lot of things,” Kira smirked. “Do you want to come in?” Wendy and Becky nodded and the group entered the home of the Mason clan.