Leaving ((Braythe, Jamie, Open))

[Grath]

"Of-of course," she mumbled. "I'm, um, only visiting Redwall, actually." She had come to think of the mountain as her home, or at least her place of lodging, over these past few seasons. She wouldn't be able to stay away very long.

“Well its good to know I won’t need to hire another assistant. I would hate to have to deal with more hysterics as they learn to deal with Doctor Black.” Her tone was dry but amusement lurked in her words and face.

The hare blinked, pointing at himself in confusion. "Hm? Oh, no. No. I was jus'... jus' thinkin' about... it's just funny... Ripley," he said blankly, recalling her little 'Snow Badger' lesson a few minutes ago. "She was tellin' some leverets about the mystical Snow Badger an' his magic hares."

“Suuurre.” Jamie was a terrible liar, and his face betrayed him every time. Also the outlandish stories he came up with. And the squirming. He usually twitched or fidgeted quite a bit when he lied. She smiled. It was kind of cute.

"An' Sersea?" he said incredulously. "Really?"

Crossing his arms, he looked at Roseleaf. "Y'know, jus' for that, I'm going t'Redwall, too."

“Oh really?” She crossed her arms and looked down at him on the bench. “Were you going to tell me in a note, or did you hope I could read minds?”

“And yes, Sersea. Got something against your last name, boyo?”

[Tracy]

"Were you going to tell me in a note, or did you hope I could read minds?"

"Well, I just found out about three minutes ago an' meant to go find you, so are you tryin' t'tell me you can't read minds?" Jamie retorted. The timing was rather magnificent. Although it kept him from having to track her down, he didn't really want to say goodbye in front of... well, everybody.

"And yes, Sersea. Got something against your last name, boyo?"

"Oh, no. Thought it might be that you had somethin' against my first name." The lieutenant was surrounded all day, every day by beasts who weren't allowed to address him by his first name. Among all the other reasons it was pleasant be around Roseleaf, he liked how much more personal everything was with her.

Flicking his attention to Vicky then, he nodded at her. "Jus' need a bit t'tell my family I'm going an' pack for the trip. I'll meet you at the main gate in about an hour?" The estimate was a bit optimistic; packing for a trip inland during this kind of weather was a real task.

Jamie made to leave, but moved around Roseleaf, murmuring close to one of her ears, "I'll see you in your office a few minutes before I go, okay?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek and left quickly.

~~~~~

A little under an hour later, Jamie slipped into Roseleaf's office, clicking the door shut behind him.

Telling his family had gone exactly as he'd expected. His mother, although pretending not to be worried, had implored him to be careful before helping him to pack. Keely, on the other hand, had run from the room, sobbing. Jamie, under too much of a time constraint to comfort and reassure his little sister, was a little relieved when his stepfather took over the chore.

Smiling now at Roseleaf, Jamie moved across the room and scooped the haremaid clear off her feet, kissing her. Spinning her around once, he slowly lowered her back to her feet. "You're the only reason I can even go on another trip," he told her between kisses. "I'll never be able to repay you for that."