“Are you OK?” asked Peppermint.

“Yeah.” Ina’s answer came out in a soft sigh. “I just thought I’d gotten away from all that.”

“Yeah.” Peppermint scratched her head. “Who would have thought you’d find such a boor in the middle of nowhere.”

“I think he was just being honest. I…”

“Yeah?”

“Honestly, I got a little mad when you said you’d found another familiar.”

Peppermint approached Ina. “Why?”

It took Ina a few seconds to muster the courage necessary to be honest with Peppermint, with herself. “I thought this would be my forest too.”