The girl went into the kitchen and started to make up some ham and cheese sandwiches, then cut them up into finger bites and stacked them up in a jenga type way. They could share them whenever her brother got back. She briefly glanced back to see Sage, only to find him hugging onto the big ginger female cat. She felt a small smile tug a the corners of her mouth as she turned back to cut up some more sandwiches and pour some water. She found herself thinking about the boy, though... she had really never met anyone like him. People down here were so... dull. Grumpy and bitter, but he somehow managed to stay somewhat upbeat. Hell, his own father was the one that talked down on him... and she couldn't even begin to imagine how painful it was for him to hear someone that was meant to love him speak about him like that... she really meant it when she said he deserved more from the world. She'd never met anyone like him... he was so brave, so strong and kind and just wonderful in his own right and she had to admire him for it. Soon enough, little Xander came running in and jumped into the table where the sandwiches were set. He went to grab one hungerly and the girl couldn't help her little chuckle. "How do you feel about going down to the lake? If you go grab a towel and a spare pair of clothes we can eat and then you can have a splash about," she told the boy to which he nodded exited and darted off. She shook her head and took the big plate though to the room Sage was sitting in and placed it on the small table in the middle of the couches. "I think he's excited," she hummed lightly before handing the boy a glass of water and gesturing to the sandwiches. "Help yourself. We can eat before we go," she told him lightly.

Sage looked up from the cat when he heard the door open and the small pitter patter of tiny shoes come running into the house. He felt a smile grow when he saw the boys enthusiastic reaction to going to the pond, and glanced over at Mari when he heard her walk back into the room. "I'll say so," he chuckled. "Wish I could have had time to get that excited about things when I was his age. When I do it now I seem like a five year old even though I'm a grow man," he noted with amusement, silent laughter glittering in his eyes as he looked over at the girl. He took the glass of water from the girl and nodded. He was getting to be a bit hungry himself, he supposed, and he may as well eat now. Though, there was quite honestly a good chance he'd throw it all up once they got back down to the lake and he saw Lizzie's grave. He'd visited once before, and he just sobbed for a while, but still....he hadn't been there in years and he didn't know how he'd react. There had been so much that had happened in the years prior, and he had no idea what memories would surface.

The girl cocked her head at the man and gave a bit of a chuckle. "Oh my god, you are a grown man, aren't you?" She noted in an amused tone of voice. She hadn't really known him as a teen, but she'd passed him once or twice in the castle halls a couple of years back. It was just a bit weird to think about. She then took a finger sandwich and started nibbling on the edges. "Well you can get exited now Mr. Grownup. I'm pretty sure I can convince Xander to let you run around with him if you ask nicely." She mused lightly before rolling her eyes. "I'd love to see you running about like a five year old," she giggled lightly. When the boy ran back in, he had a sack full of... stuff. To be honest, she didn't know what any of it was, but she trusted the young boy had what he needed... if he didn't then that was his own fault. He slid in next to her and got comfortable before stealing a couple more sandwiches and stuffing his face. Soon enough, they'd all sorted themselves and head headed for the door. She paused and looked back to Sage, realising he hadn't had any of his meds. "Do you want anything for pain? Or do you feel okay?" She asked with a cocked head.

Sage snorted at the girl's tease and muttered "ha ha," in a rather amused manner. He nibbled at his sandwich before chuckling at the girl's comment. "Maybe," he hummed. "it should be warm enough to dry off on the way home," he mused. The he gasped in mock offense and whacked the girls upper arm lightly. "you're so mean to me," he complained, laughing. He raised an eyebrow silently at the boys bag of....stuff. But soon enough they were heading out, and he couldn't help but be a bit excited. He was nervous too, but he found he was mostly excited. He shook his head when the girl asked the question and shrugged. "I'll be fine," he hummed. He felt alright, he did. He was a bit sore in places, but nothing too bad...he was still excited to go run around like a five year old and was joking around genuinely, so he couldn't be too bad.

The girl grinned at his little mockery of a laugh and shook her head a little. "Well, even if it's not I'm sure there'll be a towel or something you can wrap up in that bag of Xanders," she mused as they left the house. To be honest, she would have probably been able to see if the boy was lying about feeling okay... but he wasn't right now. And it was nice to see. She just gave a nod and another smile to him as they walked. The town was busy because it was nice out, but she felt oddly safe... she normally got a little nervous out in down because of some not-so-great experiences, but today she felt... okay. Don't get me wrong, she could protect herself if she had to, but she genuinely felt okay today. Soon enough, though, they got to the little lake area, and Xander went to put some wildflowers he'd picked up on the way down on the cross as he always did before turning and sprinting full pelt into the water, still fully clothed. Mari could only giggle at the boy but got herself comfortable by a tree. "You can join him if you feel like it," she told him with a bit of a laugh.

Sage chuckled and shrugged. "He does seem to have everything in that bag of his," he hummed lightly. He enjoyed the quiet walk down to the lake, a lot. He enjoyed talking to Mari and Xander, of course, but the silence was nice. Peaceful almost, even though he knew they could get jumped at any time. He watched Xander eagerly set the flowers down by Lizzie's headstone and then run into the water, laughing. He was touched by the boy's gestures, yet again, and stared at the grave for a moment before looking back over at the boy with a grin on his face. Sage giggled at Mari's comment and looked over at the girl. "I know, and I don't need to get your permission to do it," he chuckled, teasing the girl a bit. Then he cocked his head slightly at her. "Why don't you ever join him? Having fun with a younger sibling is...like nothing else." He stared at the girl for a moment before shrugging and grabbing her hand, dragging her down to the lake. "Hey Xander, guess who's playing with us today," he chirped. The boys eyes grew big and excited as he bounced over to Mari with a delighted squeal, dragging her into the water as he splashed about. Sage pelted in after them with a cackle, dousing all three of them in the process.

The girl turned her nose up at him in a teasing way as he told her he didn't need her permission. She was about to reply with a sarcastic comment or so when he asked his question and just kind of shrugged. "Well, I just kind of ne.." she trailed off with a yelp as her brother grabbed her hand and, that turned into a type of deformed scream when he dragged her into the water, she kind of shielded herself from the water for a couple of moments before giving up and falling backwards, and landed with a bit of a splash in the water. She was quiet as her head sunk back, but she soon popped up again, her hair covering her face to hide her dumb grin, but that didn't stop you from hearing the bellow of laughter that escaped her. "Sage!" She yelped in an accusatory tone of voice, though it was still laced with amusement. She flicked her hair back out of her face and looked at her brother with a sly smile before throwing a wave of water at the young boy, resulting in a chorus of giggles and splashes from the young boy.

Sage let out a giggle at the girl's yelp, and his laughter only increased as she fell over into the water, soaking her dress even further. He gave the girl a wide grin when she resurfaced, though by then he'd doubled over with laughter, and wasn't likely to stop soon. He wheezed out a sort of "you should have seen your face," in between laughs, though eventually he caught his breath enough to straighten, eyes glittering in a very similar way to Xander's. He grinned when the girl splashed her brother...they were all having so much fun. He hadn't had this much fun in years. He enjoyed drawing and being out at the barn with the horses, especially chaos and mystery, yes....but that wasn't fun like this type of thing was. They were just different. Both were amazing, but different. The girl needed to loosen up and play a bit though...Anya had too. Her mother could probably use it as well, though no way was he going to drag her into a lake...that definitely wouldn't be smart.

Mari gave a playful type of groan to the boy's laugh and rolled her eyes. She was chuckling quietly to herself as her brother continued to throw water at her. She splashed him back a couple of times before looking at Sage with a mischievous grin before using her other hand to grab Sage's ankle and pulled it from under him so that he fell down next to her. She cackled at the boy once he resurface and had her brother throw a wave of water at him with a huge smile across her face... really, she hadn't had this much fun in a really long time. She was about thirteen, maybe, when she started working in the castle... since then it was work, work, work. But, this was nice... and she really did like messing around with both her brother and Sage. The man was more fun than she'd expected him to be... and she had to say she really quite enjoyed seeing him so... happy.

Sage giggled for another few moments before letting out a kind of surprised yelp when the girl yanked his foot out from under him. He resurfaced and gave the girl a face before the younger boy splashed him, and he sent a wave back at both of them with a laugh, reaching over to grab the girl and knock her over as well. He was enjoying this ...he hadn't done this in a while, and it was definitely nice to unwind a bit.

(Bit short)