[Sorry for the long wait! >~< Listen to this song while you read this story
http://youtu.be/YNqPlnJOzok
Nothing else, so, enjoy! :D]
Ngaire awoke in her soft bed, surrounded by soft toys and multiple pillows she used for sleep-fighting practice. She stretched quickly and her tail jolted around under the bed. Slowly, she rolled to the edge of the bed and swung her legs over the side.
The room was dark, but she stood up groggily and opened the dark red curtains a crack and the light streamed in instantly. The light illuminated her walls and motivational posters covered her walls, together with her own drawings.
"KNOCK KNOCK"
She turned to the door and her mum's voice popped in through the wood.
"Sweetie, it's time to wake up~" Juliet half sang through the thin wood.
"I'm awake mum...just barely~" She replied and whispered the last part to herself. Juliet's footsteps trailed away and Ngaire walked over to her cupboard and opened the door with the mirror. She checked herself out and tidied up her hair a little and admired her rugged 'just woke up' look. In her opinion, she looked amazing and she thought Elijah would agree. She might ask him that when she visited him later.
Grabbing her towel and some clothes, she hopped out the door and into the bathroom which was down the corridor. Once inside, she stripped slowly and turned on the shower. Without thinking, she stepped in and she instantly regretted it. She jumped back out from the icy cold water and all her fur stood on its end as she hissed. After a minute, she stuck a paw in and decided it was warm enough and she stepped into the much safer, and warmer water.
She took her own sweet time as there was no school on Saturdays and she was honestly glad there wasn't. But Elijah was still in the infirmary and she wanted to visit him. She was hopeful she could wear some informal attire to the infirmary to see him.
Finishing her bath, she washed up and hopped happily into her room. She changed quickly and came out of the room in a plain T-shirt and some sleep pants.
Juliet gasped as she saw her daughter in her sleeping outfit and shooed her back in, telling her to wear something nicer.
The younger panther came back out in the same T-shirt with a hoodie on and some proper pants", gesturing to her mother, ask though asking 'Better?'. Juliet nodded and walked down the stairs of their mansion to the dining hall. Ngaire followed suit and remembered to take her favourite book with her.
Their breakfast was usually the same since they all loved the same food. It started with scrambled eggs and bacon, followed by sausages. She sat down and greeted her dad, much to his surprise.
"Someone's up early and excited, huh?" Malcolm said softly, teasing his daughter. She blushed and kept quiet, starting with her breakfast.
"Maybe it's because she's got that new boy, Elijah, to take care of her~" Replied Juliet as her parents both giggled and smiled at Ngaire.
She hid her darker blush and quickly finished her food.
"E-excuse me!" She said and quickly walked to the sofa to sit down to rest and keep her emotions under control.
Elijah had been in her mind for the past few days since the day Darian almost attacked her, but the dragon had saved her in the nick of time.
He was even in some of her dreams and she dared not tell her parents about the variety of dreams he was in, much less the positions.
She sighed softly and her dad walked over to wrap his arm around her shoulder
"Sweetheart, is everything ok? Your mum and I didn't mean anything earlier, we're sorry if we upset you, dear." He looked at her with his soft gentle eyes, reminding her of Elijah and she quickly shook her head.
"Yeah, everything's fine dad and no, no, you guys didn't upset me" She said with what she hoped was a real enough looking smile up at her dad. He gave her a slightly worried look and decided to let it go.
Malcolm kissed her forehead and trots up the stairs on all fours as quick as he could to get ready for work. Juliet, on the other hand, was already in her white scrubs and carrying a haversack, ready to go to work. She sat beside Ngaire and hugged her tightly before planting a kiss on her cheek.
"You, young lady, stay safe ok?" She said softly and smiled at Ngaire who then nodded, eager to set off already. Her heart thumped faster than normal at the excitement of seeing Elijah again. She quickly remembered to grab her favourite book before she followed her mother to the bottom of the stairs.
Her dad hopped down the stairs, much to Juliet's annoyance and Ngaire's amusement. She watched her mother cross her arms at the male panther and he smiled at her cheekily, walking over and hugging her gently and giving her a gentle kiss which made her much happier. Ngaire hoped she ended up with someone that treated her like that someday.
Malcolm walked over to the door and opened it for his wife and daughter and let them leave first before he too left the house and locked it behind him.
They all walked towards the train station while holding hands with each other. Soon, they arrived at the familiar royal-red-roofed train station. They walked up the stairs and the sun shone through the beautifully painted glass which depicted stories. The air was fresh with the smell of oranges and the furries around were chatting to each other while some were minding their own business.
The three of them hugged and went their separate ways. Ngaire boarded the last carriage at the back and sat down comfortably before the train started to move off.
"LEAVING NEWBROOK AND TRAVELLING TO BARROWEDGE! LEAVING NEWBROOK AND TRAVELLING TO BARROWEDGE!" The announcement speaker blared in everyone's ears while Ngaire had covered hers. She had always hated the loud announcements, but then it seemed like everyone else was fine with it.
Minutes later, the train started to speed up and the scenery changed to the more bustling city of Barrowedge. They had just passed the wall and she could see the university in the distance. Her heart beat a little faster when she thought of Elijah and she could feel her face heating up slightly and she quickly started reading to keep her mind occupied.
Minutes later, she alighted from the train and walked down the steps to the familiar blue sign that led students to the University.
She found her way to the infirmary as quickly as she could and placed her hand on the door frame to catch her breath. The nurse who was cleaning up inside came over to her and offered her a cup of water.
"Miss are you alright?" The female tiger asked softly and rubbed Ngaire's back gently to calm her down. Jess downed the water and breathed slowly to calm down before speaking.
"Y-Yeah, I wanna see my umm...friend, Elijah..." She felt slightly ashamed that she said, friend, since they were slightly more than just friends now.
"Elijah? O-oh! You're Ngaire right? I'm sorry to say but Elijah was discharged in the morning and I think...I think he went home~ he gave me a letter in case you came!" Ngaire's heart sank and her shoulders slumped slightly. The nurse saw her shoulders sink and quickly fetched the letter. Ngaire took the letter and opened it.
[To Ngaire:
Hey cutie, if you are reading this, I have been discharged and I'm going to my parents house in Oldtown. I'm sorry I didn't tell you yesterday, but you were too beautiful asleep for me to wake you up and well, I did fall asleep too. Anyway, my parent's house is a short walk from the train station, though I don't think you would want to visit me. You might not like where I live. I don't want your view of me to be tarnished by where I live. But knowing you...If you want to visit it's the house with the chimney and it has weird stuff growing out of it. Yeah, growing. Not my fault. (Totally my fault) Anyway, see you either there or at school! Love you!
Elijah xoxoxo]
She felt a smile grow on her face as she read it and she giggled softly even as she blushed. Slipping it into her pocket, she walked out of the infirmary and back towards the train station.
Amazingly, she managed to get onto the train before the door shut and found a place near a window to rest her slightly tired legs. The part of her tail that was hanging off the seat swished lazily but happily and she looked down at the book in her lap in an attempt to hide a smile. Her hands slowly came together and she squeezed them together gently and interlocked the fingers.
Why did going to visit him make her feel so warm and giggly?
Now she knew what people meant when they felt so happy they could do anything they wanted to, she was just taking a day to visit him nothing big but she felt like she could fly. She hurried off the train when it got to the Oldtown station.
The moment she got off the train the indescribable stench of the lowest ring hit her. She leant against a wall trying to get her nose under her control of the stench and it's revolting taste. Her body shook gently and her legs shivered, but she held steady. She stood up and pinched her nose to try and breathe through her mouth. It proved to be a horrible choice as it tasted like battery acid and stale bread.
She ignored the looks she got from the people there as she walked off and she started looking for him, said 'weird growing thing in the chimney'. After a few minutes of searching and swapping between breaths from the nose and mouth, she managed to find it after a while and she smiled brightly. Her hand stopped pinching her nose as she could smell something nice cooking inside. It was a cute looking house as it had some cute faded drawings on the outside, like a child's or multiple children's drawings. They were of this big weird looking being with wings she assumed was Elijah, helping the smaller kids arounds the circle. She walked up to the front door, took a deep breath, and knocked.
She heard some soft footsteps come to the door and the door creaked open as a familiar face appeared in the doorway.
"Elijah!" She cried out and hugged him tightly as he hugged her back a little surprised.
"N-Ngaire?! Y-you're actually here?" He asked softly, still surprised. She nodded and nuzzled his neck gently and smiled happily. He hugged her tighter and sniffed softly. She gently pulled away and looked at him and rubbed his cheek.
"Turn down a chance to visit your home? No way~" She giggled softly and kissed his forehead.
"Heh, should've guessed~ Anyway, I want you to meet my parents!" He gently tugged her into the house. Inside, it smelled like chocolate cookies and strawberries. She took quick sniffs in the air to Elijah's surprise and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"I see why you like this house a lot...It smells amazing!" She exclaimed and giggled happily.
"I'm glad you like it dear~ I'd say you're Ngaire, Elijah has told us about you everyday~" Bertha smiled at the young panther and hugged her gently. She squeaked and hugged her back. She mouthed to Elijah silently.
This is your mum?!
He nodded and she giggled, rubbing Bertha's back gently. Phillip walked up to his son and put an arm around Elijah's shoulder.
"Son, I'm proud of you! Nice catch!" He smirked and Elijah blushed and poked his dad while Ngaire giggled.
"Dad! Don't say it like that!" He giggled and smiled shyly at Ngaire. They all let go of each other and Phillip went to prepare drinks for them all while Bertha went to get the cookies that were in the oven. Elijah shyly led Ngaire by the hand, to his own room. They were some old posters on the wall while there was a guitar in the corner and a violin case on a shelf and some clothes on the bed. There was a bookshelf packed slightly over with books of different genres. Some were about comedy and others about romance. Upon closer inspection, she realised that he read some books she had read too. She leant down and felt his bed. It felt soft and warm, as though he had just laid in it for a while.
"Oh! Take a seat! Sorry haha, I...um...rarely have guests so um, just be at home?" He said, feeling slightly nervous and uneasy. She smiled and walked over to hug him gently. He sighed softly and giggled, hugging her back and sitting the both of them on the bed. Gently, she rubbed his shoulders and kissed his cheek.
He blushed and smiled at her and he glanced at her soft black lips. They looked so inviting, but he held back. He would do that another time. He caught her looking at his and he blushed instantly. She blushed at him catching her looking at his gentle lips.
Bertha came in and laughed softly before setting the plate of chocolate cookies on the table. Ngaire and Elijah thanked Bertha at the exact same time and she laughed even louder before leaving the room. Elijah and Ngaire looked at each other and blushed a darker colour.
"W-would you like a cookie?" He asked and reached over to the plate.
"Y-yeah, t-thanks..." She replied and glanced repeatedly and shyly up at Elijah as her head looked down.
Over the next few hours, they talked and ate and found out more about each other. Like how they loved the same bands, songs and books. They had the same quirks when they were nervous, to the delight of Elijah's parents who just loved seeing them rub the back of their neck in tandem as though they rehearsed. They even brought in strawberries dipped in chocolate for dessert at night.
Much later, they took turns to bathe and Ngaire changed into her own pyjamas, but she chose to 'steal' one of Elijah's T-shirts and put it on. It was way too big for her, but she wrapped it around her and snuggled into it. They bade Bertha and Phillip a good night's sleep before tucking into bed themselves. Unfortunately, the lower ring wasn't cool at night but it didn't matter, Elijah was cool to the touch. They slept without blankets on Elijah's soft pillows, Ngaire in Elijah's big, strong arms. They would only dream of tomorrow until the morning came.
[Aww, now that was the cutest, and longest chapter I've ever, EVER written! I really hope you guys (and gals!) vote, review and comment if you like! :D Sorry for the wait but I guess this is sorta payment~ Anyway, have a good day!]