Reborn

Gethen

Sophie finished packing in the morning. Everything was placed neatly by her door so she'd have time to grab it. Marty was purring around her legs.

"I'll miss you silly kitty," She felt bad abandoning him again. She knew he was going to a good home, but he had always felt like he had been her pet rather than the family's pet. A stray tear trickled down her cheek.

She decided she was bringing Marty.

She knew Fitz would refuse, but she didn't care. If she was getting the chance to redo everything, she was going to bring her cat, even if it killed her. She placed plenty of cat food and toys and a few other essentials in the leftover portions of her bag.

Now that she was aware of how desperately Fitz needed her, she knew all she had to do was refuse to go to the cities without Marty and Fitz would have to allow it. She couldn't bear to leave her childhood friend behind.

Sophie pulled her hair back into a simple braid. She decided to wear clothing that more so resembled elven clothes than her yellow and brown shirt. She placed on a gray tunic and black leggings, complete with gray flats. She hardly owned anything colorful. She hated to admit that she was dressing like this for Fitz.

She crept downstairs and out the front door, hoping to see Mr. Forkle. Thankfully, he was standing out on his front lawn. She gave him a cheery smile and he returned it with a less cheery, more confused smile. She really wanted to run over and tell him everything. That she knew her future! She could stop the Neverseen!

Something in her told her that telling him would change everything. It would mess up the timeline of things drastically and she wasn't willing to risk that. But it was definitely tempting...

"Looking for someone?" Mr. Forkle asked while hunching over his collection of gnomes. He loved to rearrange them all the time.

"No," Sophie mumbled. She forgot how nosy he was back when he was just her neighbor.

His beady blue eyes bored into hers. "You kids," he grumbled. "Always up to something."

If only he knew.

Actually, maybe he did. He was one of the only people capable of slipping past her mental blocking.

A small ball of fur bolted past her. Sophie watched as the small dog ran away as if it was in fear.

"Would you mind grabbing her?" a blonde jogger called to Sophie as the dog raced across her lawn. She clumsily stepped on the leash, almost falling in the process. The dog tried to escape her grasp, but she picked it up instead.

The dog was trembling.

She cradled the dog, trying to calm it. It desperately wanted out of her hands and to get farther away.

Thank you so much," the guy said as he ran up the path. As soon as he drew close, the dog growled and strained against the leash, barking like mad.

"She's my sister's dog," he shouted over the noise. "She hates me. Not my sister—the dog," he added.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to carry her back to my sister's house. It's just a few blocks away, and she seems to like you better than me." He winked one of his piercing blue eyes.

Those eyes. The jogger definitely had a disguise on. Something was masking his face. If only she could recognize those eyes...

"She most certainly will not," Mr. Forkle yelled before she could open her mouth to answer. "Sophie, go inside. And you"—he pointed to the jogger—"get out of here right now or I'm calling the police."