Green Canyon Magic - Ch.21 - Emails & Anticipation (Patreon)

"Any news, my little star?" Stef asked when they noticed me checking my phone again.

My ears flicked and I shook my head, "Not since they left Oberfladnitz."

"That's not surprising though," I added as I tucked the magic-powered device into my hoodie pocket. "They'll be in the mountain's black-out zone by now, so we won't be getting any more texts or messages from them. Nothing we can do now but wait until we sense them on our land."

The catkin gave me a smile, "I was actually thinking of your parents. I take it they still haven't responded to your email?"

"Nothing yet," I sighed.

My ears drooped to either side as I added, "Maybe I shouldn't have been so honest with them? Except mom checks my social media, so there wasn't much point trying to keep things from them. She'd have seen all the stuff I shared online Saturday night. Heck she might have even seen all that before I even saw dad's email Sunday morning."

I spent over an hour that day trying to figure out how to respond, and the plan I eventually came up with was to try and keep things vague but positive. I was going to take things slow with my parents, to make sure they really were getting better about how they treated me before I revealed anything too sensitive.

Then I realized how pointless that was, since mom would see all my social media posts she'd find out all that stuff anyways.

So instead of taking things slowly and cautiously I basically told my parents almost everything. I let them know Stef and I were both doing great, and that we hadn't planned on moving away or disappearing but we stumbled onto an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

I didn't say anything about magic or that we were working for Gaia, but I did tell them that both my and Stef's transitions were miraculously completed. I also told them we'd found a great new home and amazing new jobs. I even included a selfie so they'd know what I looked like.

Except all that happened three days ago. Now it was Wednesday and my parents still hadn't responded to my email. I couldn't help worrying maybe I said too much after all. Or maybe the picture put them off. After all the trouble they had accepting me as trans, perhaps finding out I'd sprouted fox ears and a few tails was too much for them. Or maybe they read between the lines and realized I was working for Public Enemy Number One, maybe they didn't want anything to do with me because they thought I'd become a terrorist.

Another possibility that occurred to me yesterday was maybe they never got my email at all.

Odds were the Austrian government was watching or monitoring both Stef's and my families, and probably our friends too. They could have intercepted my email because they thought it contained sensitive information or something. Except they didn't seem to be interfering with any of the messages and texts we'd been exchanging with our friends, and we'd been even more open and honest with them than I was with my parents.

In the end there wasn't much more I could do but wait. If I hadn't heard anything by the end of the week maybe I'd send another email. Or I could call, but I really didn't want to talk to them. Not until I knew for sure they were going to be nice about things.

So I tried to put that subject out of my mind for now, and fortunately my enbyfriend picked that moment to speak up again.

"I hope they didn't run into any trouble," Stef commented with a worried look on their face. "How much longer do you think it'll be before they reach our land?"

I leaned closer and gave them a reassuring hug, "I'm sure they're fine cutie. They didn't say which route they're taking, but it's only been a half hour since their last text. It'll be another thirty minutes at least, but it might be as much as an hour and a half before they reach the woods. It just depends on how fast they're walking and which way they're coming."

They hugged me back then smiled, "I'm sure you're right. It's just -"

Their voice cut off as we both felt it. Theo did too, he'd been asleep on Stef's lap but he raised his head and opened his eyes at the same time the catkin went silent.

"Ok what in the world is that?" I asked with a frown, while I focused on what I was sensing through the ground. "I've never felt anything like that before."

Stef's ears twitched, then their expression shifted to a grin. "Bicycles! I can hear the chains going around the sprockets."

"Sounds like one of them needs maintenance though," they added as their grin turned into a smirk. "The gears are squeaky."

I giggled, "Probably Flora. I can't believe that old bike of hers still works, considering how hard she rides it."

"C'mon!" I added as I got up off the sofa. My ears were standing up tall and my tails swished back and forth in anticipation as I said, "Let's go meet them, now that we know where they are. We can help carry things, and make sure they don't get lost."

"Ok my little star. Sorry Theo," Stef apologized to our wildcat friend before moving him off their lap. Then they got to their feet as well, and the two of us headed for the door of our cosy subterranean home.

Theo grumbled a bit about losing his comfy nap spot, but he ended up following us outside. The weather was fairly typical for mid October, with plenty of low grey clouds in the sky. A cool breeze whistled through the trees and the air felt like it wanted to rain, but fortunately that hadn't started yet.

We started moving to the south-west, vaguely in the direction of Niederfladnitz, and while we walked our little wildcat friend had some questions for us.

"These humans you've invited to come and see us, they aren't like the other ones we've already met, right?" he asked. "They're not going to lie to us or try and trick us? And they're not going to attack us either, right?"

Stef smiled and shook their head, "I promise Theo these are the good kind of humans. Flora and I have been friends for years. She's actually the one who helped me hatch! And her girlfriend Charlotte is nice too. Stella and I have known her for almost three years now I think?"

"Almost," I nodded. "Flora brought Charlotte to that New Years party, remember? That's when we first met her. And you introduced me to Flora about six months before that, just after we started hanging out together."

That put another smile on the catkin's face. Their ears and tail were all standing up tall as they replied, "I remember! That was a fun party."

"I wonder what New Years will be like for us this year," they added as their expression fell slightly. Their ears and tail started to droop and they sighed, "I hope the world is still in one piece by then."

My ears and tails all drooped as well. I tried to stay positive though, "It will. I know things are rough right now, but that's because the humans are still coming to terms with the new reality. And it seems like the rest of the world has learned from America's and Australia's mistakes, right?"

After all the bad news over the weekend we'd been worried how other countries were going to react. And even though no-one else had been stupid enough to directly challenge Gaia or attack her representatives, the news over the last couple days was still a mixed bag.

It seemed like Australia learned its lesson, or at least that's how the news made it sound. They already formed a new interim government based in Adelaide, and their replacement PM issued a formal apology to Gaia. They didn't go so far as to promise to stop fossil fuel mining or shipping though, and there hadn't been any official word on the status of Gaia's representatives down under either. So it remained to be seen how things were going to play out there.

The news from America was a little more grim. Since the loss of their federal government all the states had been squabbling amongst themselves, to the point where the rest of the world was starting to worry about another US civil war. Which got really scary when you stopped to think about how big the US military was, and the fact that they had nuclear weapons.

There was already a growing rivalry between a few cities on the east coast. New York, Boston, and Philadelphia were all vying for the role of the nation's new capital. Meanwhile Texas went ahead and declared their independence on Monday, although none of the other states had recognized or even acknowledged that yet. Neither had the UN, or other countries, or anyone else who didn't happen to live in Texas.

California was talking about independence too, although there were rumours that they were also considering some sort of smaller union with a few of their west-coast neighbours, like Oregon and Washington State. Even British Columbia in Canada was supposedly involved in that conversation. Apparently that wasn't a new thing either, the idea of a west-coast nation went back decades.

In fact rumours of secession were cropping up all over the USA and even some parts of Canada. If you put it all together it really sounded like both of those countries might ultimately break up into a dozen or so smaller nation-states.

Things in Europe were only a little better. There were loads of speeches and debates, and while nobody was foolish enough to try and openly fight Gaia there hadn't been much in the way of actual progress or cooperation either. The most worrying thing was Russia's silence on the whole situation. They refused to make any official statements regarding Gaia, the mountains, or even what was happening in the US. And the most predictable thing was the English already managed to distract themselves with a government sex scandal.

Local news was perhaps a little more positive. The three of us hadn't heard anything from our own government since the president visited us on Friday, but their latest press releases announced that they were in talks with Gaia and her representatives. Which was true, although it didn't necessarily mean they were going to cooperate. At least it was a start.

"I wonder how they're managing the bicycles through the woods," Stef suddenly commented. "This isn't exactly bike-friendly territory here."

I shook my head, "They won't be riding all the way up to our front door, but there's plenty of trails through the national park, and they're not all under water. Plus outside the park there's unpaved roads or country lanes that criss-cross the woods. I'm sure that's what they're following. They aren't heading straight for us or our cave, they're just trying to get close before they have to go off-road."

My enbyfriend smiled, "Ah of course. That makes sense."

"Even if they have to walk the bikes the last few hundred meters it's still probably better than coming the whole way on foot," they added.

I agreed, "Especially if they're bringing everything we asked about. That'd be heavy and awkward to carry, but hopefully easier if its secured on their bikes. Flora's got a cargo rack on the back of hers, and I think Charlotte does too?"

"We'll find out soon enough my little star," Stef replied with a smile. "They're only a few minutes away now."

We'd covered almost a kilometer since leaving our cave, and I could feel a path just up ahead through the trees. The two cyclists were following that trail as they approached from the right, and all three of us picked up the pace so we'd get there in time to meet them. Otherwise there was a chance they'd go straight past, since they wouldn't know exactly where to find our new home.

Fortunately we got the timing just right, as we emerged from the woods fifteen or twenty seconds before our friends came into view. My ears were up and my tails wagging back and forth as I waved. Stef was waving too, with their ears and tail all standing up tall and proud. Theo stayed by our feet and watched quietly as our friends came to a stop in front of us.

"Oh my goddess look at you two!" Flora exclaimed. "Aah! I can hardly believe it!"

She was a tall slim athletic woman in her mid-thirties, with short dark brown hair and dark eyes. And her outfit was obviously chosen for cycling, she was dressed in tight leggings under a tight windbreaker. She was also wearing a bike helmet and riding glasses, but she took those off as soon as she'd stopped.

Charlotte meanwhile was a pleasantly curvy petite young woman in her late twenties. Her normally-fair skin carried a bit of a flush from the bike ride, and her long blonde hair looked a little matted under her bike helmet. She wore some loose blue jeans and a large bright orange hoodie.

Both of them also had backpacks on, and their bicycles were weighed down with more goodies. There was a large bulky cardboard box strapped to the cargo rack on Flora's bike, while Charlotte's saddle-bags looked full. So was the basket hanging from her handlebars.

The blonde's eyes bulged as they slowly trailed up and down over both Stef and myself. Then she nodded, "It really is incredible. I mean the pictures were wild, but seeing you for real is something else entirely."

Both of them dismounted and carefully left their bikes leaning against some trees, then it was all hugs and happy greetings. I actually found myself almost overcome with emotions, as it hit me just how much I missed seeing our friends. Stef seemed to be feeling it too, and both of us had to wipe our eyes once or twice during the little reunion.

When the four of us separated after all the hugs and greetings Flora gave the catkin and myself a funny look. And in an accusing tone she stated, "You two are shorter! You've actually shrunk, haven't you?!"

"Oh gosh they have!" Charlotte gasped. "Look! I'm taller than Stella now!"

That made me blush, but I was smiling and my tails were still wagging. I tried to change the subject though, "Our new home isn't far from here, but I don't think you'll have much luck getting there on your bikes? Stef and I can help carry stuff, but you're probably going to have to walk the rest of the way."

"Before we do that we need to take care of the introductions," Stef pointed out. Then they gestured towards the large wildcat who was watching quietly from a meter or two away, "This is Theo. He's our friend, and basically part of our family now."

They continued, "And Theo, these are Flora and Charlotte. They're the friends we've been telling you about."

"Hello Flora, hello Charlotte," Theo replied politely. "It's nice to meet you both."

Despite all the news about Gaia's representatives, both of our friends looked a little shocked as they stared at the cute little talking wildcat.

** This chapter is brought to you courtesy of Lucy who commissioned it! **