Sage had let the kids wander down to the barn with him, mostly letting them feed and water the horses. It was less work on him, and he could feel like he was doing something by telling them how to do it, but he wasn't lifting anything or....well, putting himself in any real danger. It worked out well. He did keep a close eye on them, though, not wanting them to wander too far off. It was terrifying to think of what could happen to them if they were unlucky enough. Because he knew what would happen to them ..and he couldn't bear the thought of that happening. But by the time lunch rolled around, everyone was taken care of, so he shooed them back towards the house, scooping up amber, who was struggling to waddle through the grass.

Mari was busy trying to get the house set up the way she wanted it while the kids and Sage was out... something just didn't feel right in the kitchen. She couldn't quite put her finger on what, though. She sighed after a moment and just got lunch on for everyone. Just something simple like soup. She had the table set when she was about to call them all in, but the kids were already bounding over and Sage was going to pick the cat up. She couldn't help her small smile at the sight, and settled the kids down to eat while she waited for Sage.

Sage had wandered along slowly, keeping an eye on the kids for a while. Once they got inside the house though, he let his gaze just drift around to the house. The property around it. The woods beyond the fence the horses were in. He'd missed it, more than he'd even realized. He was hungry though, so he only peered around like that for a few minutes before continuing down to the house and sliding in happily, greeting Mari with a peck on the cheek. He did set amber down to eat, despite the cats loud protests. He slipped her a few bits of meat under the table, of course, but that was nothing unusual.

Mari gave a slight smile when she saw Sage wander in, and kind of gestured towards the table with a bit of a hum. She wasn't overly hungry or anything... but it would be nice just to chill out for a little while. "Horses all happy?" She asked with a little bit of a smile once everyone was settled, more asking the kids over Sage, to be honest.

Sage grinned at Mari happily when she gestures to the table, sort of pecking her on the cheek in greeting and then moving to sit down with the kids happily. He nodded along in response to her question, chuckling softly when the kids started berating her with everything they'd done that morning or facts about each horse or animal. Sage was happy to just sit there and watch, if he was being completely honest.

Mari just stood there with a dumb grin on her face as the kids started talking at her, more than happy just to bob her head along as she tidied up the kitchen, piping up every now and then to keep the conversation moving. It wasn't long until they'd all eaten, though, and she gave a bit of a smile to grab the plates while they ran off and played outside. Her brows pinched together as she thought and kind of turned her head to Sage. "I think we need to start telling them things, you know," she murmured softly.

Sage ate slowly, as he was constantly responding to comments or questions from the kids. He didn't mind it, of course, but talking did make it slightly difficult to eat. Eventually, they got through it all though, and he moved to help clean up as the kids ran off. He glanced over at Mari as she spoke, humming in agreement. "They should know what to be wary of," he agreed. "I don't want to make them paranoid though," he added with a groan.

Mai nodded softly in agreement, occasionally handing him something to dry when he came to help. "They don't need to be paranoid... they need to be safe," she murmured. She was glad they had kept them sheltered, but they did need to know to just be aware of all of this. That not everyone was their friend. "They just need to know," she continued. She didn't know how they'd do it, she couldn't remember a time where she hadn't been weary of everyone and thing, but they needed to at least know.

Sage hummed in agreement, letting out a soft sigh as he dried and put away the dishes she handed him. "I'll probably scare them if I try," he murmured softly. He'd likely phrase it in a way that would scare them, or say something crazy and just creepy them out. He wasn't sure how he'd even do it. But he didn't want to scare them....they needed to be informed, and cautious, but not dampen their enthusiasm or anything. "We'll figure out how to tell them," he murmured after a moment or so, just shaking his head.

Mari nodded slightly, her brows pinching as she already tried to figure out some sort of wording together. "We'll tell them together, Sage," she mused after a moment, moving to dry her hands and help out a few bits and bobs away. "All they need to know is that there's bad people who do bad things and they need to be cautious," she hummed. They didn't have to link anything about what happened to Sage to these bad people because that would definitely freak the kids out, but she was sure they'd find some sort of way to make sure they stayed safe.