“You take care of yourself.” she replied as she hugged Charlotte close.
“I will. And I will come back. Don't know when, but I will.” Charlotte promised as she returned the hug before stepping back and taking off her bracelet. She stretched her wings and flew off towards Rodney. “You ready?” she asked, slipping the bracelet into her bag.
Rodney smiled at the little fairy that appeared before him. "As I'll ever be, Charlotte. Now come on. Out the back. It'll be safer that way."
“I know.” Charlotte nodded, understanding, and lead the way. “That's part of why I took off my bracelet. Plus, I don't want you to get in trouble for “kidnapping” me.” she added with a wink.
He waved her off with a chuckle. "Yeah, that'd be bad." He slipped into the exit passage she'd showed him, exiting out the back with a sigh as the sunlight hit him.
Charlotte had to wait for him to open the door but eagerly flew into the alley with him. There wasn't really anything to see back here, but it was a clear shot to get out unseen. “Do you have a direction you want to go?” she asked since it seemed a little redundant to ask where they were going.
"I was hoping you would pick, my friend." He hummed, gesturing to the open field with a smile. "The world is our oyster."
“Oh! Umm… Ok.” she nodded, not having expected him to leave the option up to her. “This way then.”
"Lead the way." He hummed, following her lead as they made their way into the woods. "This'll be a fun adventure."
“I certainly hope so.” she smiled back at him as she took the lead and headed for the shortest route out of town. Hopefully, he wouldn’t mind since she had known the place all her life and now it wasn't exactly safe for him to stay longer.
Rodney just followed her quietly, enjoying the sounds of the world waking up around them. It was one of his favorite things, just watching everything come to life.
Charlotte was admittedly a little nervous about leaving. She had no idea where they were going, what they would see, when they would come back… She shook her head and tried not to think about that last one. It didn't really matter as much when you're actually on your first adventure.
"I can sense your nerves. Relax, Charlotte. This is about fun and seeing the world. Nerves and doubts have no place here."
Charlotte paused mid-flutter and looked over at him before continuing. “Am I that obvious? Or are you just that good at reading people?” she chuckled, trying to follow his advice.
He shrugged. "A little bit of both. When you spend so much time observing people, you learn to get pretty good at it."
Charlotte gave a soft hum and nodded. “Makes sense. I guess I'm just nervous because I've never gone anywhere. But I have to admit there are some things that I’ll be glad to get away from.”
"Don't we all? We all have the things we want to escape but never do for one reason or another. Now you don't have an excuse."
Charlotte giggled and nodded again. “You're right. This is a big opportunity for me. I can finally stop worrying about what people say or think about me.” she grinned. “And I'm not doing this alone either, so that's a relief.”
"Nope. It's just you and me. Me, who cares enough to bring you along and you, who cares enough to actually come with me."
“And try to keep you out of trouble.” she added with a playful wink.
"Yes yes, that too. Since I can't seem to do it myself." Rodney laughed, blushing an embarrassed pink.
Charlotte giggled and flew next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Hey, don't be embarrassed. You still managed to survive on your own for quite a while despite that.” she encouraged.
"Yes, survive I did. But it was definitely surviving, not thriving. But hopefully now that'll be at least a little alleviated."
Charlotte nodded and moved to put a more comfortable distance between them again. “I can understand that and I hope so too. At least we won't be lonely as we travel.”
"That's very true. There's so many quiet nights as a traveller. Maybe now those nights won't feel quite so quiet."
“Not likely. Since I'm going to have so many questions to ask you.” Charlotte grinned, flying a bit ahead.