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Sophie sighed as she settled in for the night. As she climbed into her nest she curled her tail around Marigold as gently as she could, hoping to not wake the sleeping child. Though she could hardly call him a child now, with how quickly he was growing and taking on responsibilities meant for adults. She could feel Dune press up against her back, small but warm and thankfully asleep. It had been a long, tiring two weeks, and he’d been a huge help.

Two weeks.

Two weeks since Rue had disappeared without a trace.

It had been so hard. Sophie had no idea how much sleep she’d lost over those two weeks, comforting Dune the best she could, for she was no replacement for her momma. But Sophie had tried, tried her best to mother two kids and run the farm and look for her sister. It wasn’t like Rue to vanish without saying anything, or really to leave at all. She always had Dune close by, and the furthest she ventured at the time was the edge of their property to maintain the fences to keep the animals in.

Sophie would never forget the night Dune’s cries woke her up. They were loud, high pitched, and full of confusion. She had raced to Rue’s room, half asleep but prepared to help, only to be shocked awake at the sight of Dune alone, and Rue’s bed empty. The biped was nowhere to be seen in the room, and upon searching the house she wasn’t anywhere else either.

That night had been the longest; Dune hardly slept, Marigold covered his ears from her cries, and Sophie did her best to comfort both of them in her nest. She whispered lullabies to Dune and wrapped her tail around Marigold in an effort to shield him from the noise. Neither really worked.

Going to the sheriff the next day wasn’t a pleasant experience. The rough quad had simply guessed that her sister had sleepwalked-despite the fact that she’d never done so before-and once Sophie had told him that, the man had the gall to say that maybe the biped had just abandoned them.

It took all of Sophie’s willpower to not punch the sheriff in the face for that one.

After finally convincing him to at least put up missing posters and ask around town, Sophie had returned to the farm to start on the daily chores. It was much harder with just one adult, but Mari did his best to help where he could. Dune had simply laid across Sophie’s back, the occasional sniffle letting her know that the child was still awake.

And that had been their routine. Everyday, checking in with the sheriff, asking around town in the early morning if anyone had seen Rue, before returning home to begin the chores. Day in, day out, nothing changed. There was no news. No one had seen her; a few towns folk offered to come by and help on the farm, but Sophie couldn’t accept their help; she insisted they instead use their time to search for her sister.

She wasn’t sure how much longer she could go on like this.

*

*

*

It was a nice evening, Sophie could practically smell the oncoming summer in the air, and in hopes to lift the kids’ spirits, suggested “camping” outside under the stars. Of course, the camping only entailed moving the nest that had formed in Rue’s room to a clear patch of grass right outside the front door. She still made dinner inside and had the kids wash up before having all three climb into the nest, which was made up of unwashed blankets, clothing, and toys that had been previously kept in Rue’s room.

It was nice to at least be outside, to have fresh air wash over the three of them. Sophie could almost trick herself into thinking that everything was normal, that Rue was just inside finishing cleaning up dinner, and that she’d join them soon. The gentle wind even made her think her sister could be playing a little trick with her wind magic.

She knew it wasn’t what was happening, but the thought was pleasant enough to make her smile to herself. It’d been a while since she’d allowed herself to even do that.

Maybe tonight she’d even have good dreams.

Oh, how wrong she would be.

*

730 words

3/83 acorns
tracker

Description

start [you are here] | next [x ]

Sophie sighed as she settled in for the night. As she climbed into her nest she curled her tail around Marigold as gently as she could, hoping to not wake the sleeping child. Though she could hardly call him a child now, with how quickly he was growing and taking on responsibilities meant for adults. She could feel Dune press up against her back, small but warm and thankfully asleep. It had been a long, tiring two weeks, and he’d been a huge help.

Two weeks.

Two weeks since Rue had disappeared without a trace.

It had been so hard. Sophie had no idea how much sleep she’d lost over those two weeks, comforting Dune the best she could, for she was no replacement for her momma. But Sophie had tried, tried her best to mother two kids and run the farm and look for her sister. It wasn’t like Rue to vanish without saying anything, or really to leave at all. She always had Dune close by, and the furthest she ventured at the time was the edge of their property to maintain the fences to keep the animals in.

Sophie would never forget the night Dune’s cries woke her up. They were loud, high pitched, and full of confusion. She had raced to Rue’s room, half asleep but prepared to help, only to be shocked awake at the sight of Dune alone, and Rue’s bed empty. The biped was nowhere to be seen in the room, and upon searching the house she wasn’t anywhere else either.

That night had been the longest; Dune hardly slept, Marigold covered his ears from her cries, and Sophie did her best to comfort both of them in her nest. She whispered lullabies to Dune and wrapped her tail around Marigold in an effort to shield him from the noise. Neither really worked.

Going to the sheriff the next day wasn’t a pleasant experience. The rough quad had simply guessed that her sister had sleepwalked-despite the fact that she’d never done so before-and once Sophie had told him that, the man had the gall to say that maybe the biped had just abandoned them.

It took all of Sophie’s willpower to not punch the sheriff in the face for that one.

After finally convincing him to at least put up missing posters and ask around town, Sophie had returned to the farm to start on the daily chores. It was much harder with just one adult, but Mari did his best to help where he could. Dune had simply laid across Sophie’s back, the occasional sniffle letting her know that the child was still awake.

And that had been their routine. Everyday, checking in with the sheriff, asking around town in the early morning if anyone had seen Rue, before returning home to begin the chores. Day in, day out, nothing changed. There was no news. No one had seen her; a few towns folk offered to come by and help on the farm, but Sophie couldn’t accept their help; she insisted they instead use their time to search for her sister.

She wasn’t sure how much longer she could go on like this.

*

*

*

It was a nice evening, Sophie could practically smell the oncoming summer in the air, and in hopes to lift the kids’ spirits, suggested “camping” outside under the stars. Of course, the camping only entailed moving the nest that had formed in Rue’s room to a clear patch of grass right outside the front door. She still made dinner inside and had the kids wash up before having all three climb into the nest, which was made up of unwashed blankets, clothing, and toys that had been previously kept in Rue’s room.

It was nice to at least be outside, to have fresh air wash over the three of them. Sophie could almost trick herself into thinking that everything was normal, that Rue was just inside finishing cleaning up dinner, and that she’d join them soon. The gentle wind even made her think her sister could be playing a little trick with her wind magic.

She knew it wasn’t what was happening, but the thought was pleasant enough to make her smile to herself. It’d been a while since she’d allowed herself to even do that.

Maybe tonight she’d even have good dreams.

Oh, how wrong she would be.

*

730 words

3/83 acorns
tracker