In Secret (Sequel to Behind the Scenes)

"So ya like climbin' things?" Sam asked as she hopped along after Sarah. "Well, I did enjoy the climb. But it's more that I like adventure than specifically liking to climb things. I think the fastest it's been recorded that someone climbed this peak is three days. I was trying to make it in two." Sarah moved really well, considering the plaster encasing her leg, but she'd always been a physically fit person.

They'd been walking for close to an hour, Sam occasionally teleporting ahead of her employer and then playing around while she waited. Once, the young girl got distracted chasing a rabbit through a field. Sarah watched for a moment before chuckling and continuing down the road. Sam popped up next to her a few moments later squealing about how fluffy the rodent had been.

"Oh! Is tha' the mount'n?!" Sam bounced on her toes, pointing to a peak in the distance. Sarah laughed at her seemingly boundless energy and nodded. "Almost there!" Sam got a thoughtful look on her face and stopped moving for a moment. "Miss? I can 'port that far. Want me to jump us?"

Sarah blinked in astonishment, meeting Sam's gaze. "Really?! You can?! That won't put too much strain on your magic?" The young girl's face lit up, determination and a fierce pride sparkling in her green eyes. "Ya ready? Hold m' arms tight so's ya don't fall." She held out her little arms to the woman in front of her and then set her gaze on the base of the mountain in the distance. She wasn't trying to show off. Really. Levy told her that was a bad idea.

She scrunched her nose in concentration and blinked, opening her eyes to a completely different scene than she'd closed them. Sarah was slightly green, gripping Sam's forearms and looking around in wonder. "That's amazing, child!" She hobbled to a nearby downed tree and perched on it, pulling her plastered leg up onto the tree trunk next to her.

"Do you need to rest now? I don't want you to overtax yourself." With a sheepish grin, Sam sat down where she was standing, breathing slightly hard from the effort of teleporting two people so far. Sarah pulled a small bag off her waist that Sam hadn't even noticed was there and started rummaging around in it. She pulled out a lacrima, small enough to fit into the palm of her hand.

"Wha's that?" Sam crawled closer, sitting on her knees and staring at the lacrima. The older woman held it out for her to take and reached into her bag for a second one. This one had little wings etched into the sides of it. "These are a fun little invention. They're scouting lacrima. This one with the wings will fly ahead for a certain programmed distance and then hover there until you catch up to it. Or until it runs into an obstruction." She pointed at the partner in Sam's hand. "That one shows you everything this one can see. Look." Sarah activated the one in her hand and pointed it at herself. Sam looked into the orb in her hand and giggled as Sarah's face popped up, a silly expression staring up at the young girl.

"Tha's cool! Whatcha use 'em for?" She handed the sight lacrima back to her employer and waited. "Well, you said you need to see where you're teleporting to, yes?" She waited for the responding nod before she continued. "This will show you your destination. I used it to scout ahead for handholds when I climbed, so we'll just send it up to where I'd stopped and give you a clear picture. Then, you can send it back down to get your return location. Think that will work?"

Sam contemplated her employer's plan for a moment before nodding. The older woman shifted her focus to the flying lacrima for a moment before tossing it in the air. They say watching it for a moment as it took off towards the mountain. Sam reached for the sight counterpart, staring deep into it. "I don' see nothin'."

"Well, I've had it programmed to fly slowly, I use it for finding handholds, remember? Hold on, I can tell it to speed up." She took hold of the lacrima in Sam's hand again and concentrated on the speed. The young girl watched, fascinated as the picture came into focus, only to see that the ground was flying by at alarming speeds. She giggled at a flock of birds, startled into flight, and the shriek of a scared rabbit as it dove into hiding.

When it finally came to a rest, Sam was looking at a windswept ledge, barely six foot wide. She glanced up to see Sarah staring at her curiously. "Can you make that? I know it's not much to land on, and if not, it's okay." Sam scoffed and stood up, gripping the sight lacrima tight in her hand. "I'll be righ' back." She stared into the lacrima, focusing and picturing herself standing right next to the face of the mountain. She blinked, and then she was cold.

Sam threw a hand backwards to catch herself against the mountain as she slid to the ground. Her knees were a bit weak from the huge jump; if she looked down, she couldn't even see Sarah at the base just below her. But, she couldn't look down. She was too busy staring at the beautiful wide open space that the mountain offered. The air was cleaner than any she'd ever breathed, and she could see for miles around. A slow grin split her face, a sense of freedom she'd never known taking over Sam's tiny body, building until she couldn't hold it anymore and she let out a scream. "WOO HOO!" Sam giggled, listening to her voice echo and fade in the vast sky in front of her.

She sat for a very long time before realizing that Sarah was probably getting worried. Sam looked around and found her employer's climbing gear and bag. She pulled the bag on after stowing everything inside and glanced at the lacrima, still floating over her head. Sarah had told her to just think at it and it would return to the older woman, waiting at the foot of the mountain. Sam furrowed her brow in concentration, but the little thing wouldn't move. She huffed, frustrated before grinning mischievously. She snatched it out of the air and tucked it into a pocket of the bag, stowing its partner with it. 

She wanted suddenly to be out there. To feel that wide open space. Gajeel called her his little bird, right? Wha' would it feel like to fly? Surely she could fall a little bit and then teleport the rest of the way.

Stepping back until the bag on her back bumped into the cliff face, Sam crouched a little and took two leaping steps forward. With a loud whoop, she hurled herself off the side of the mountain, shrieking with laughter.