_Chapter 2_

"We should probably just go in," Ren whispered.

"No way! We can't let her find out! Mother will seriously kill us!" Eirlys retorted.

"No, she won't. You're overreacting."

Eirlys crossed her shoulders and huffed. "What makes you so sure? Maybe you won't get in that much trouble because you're a boy, but I'll be dead! Remember last time? I couldn't go outside for days!"

Ren sighed. He knew that she was right. That didn't mean he was going to agree with Eirlys' plan, however.

"But what if we get caught, huh? What happens then?"

"Then don't get caught." She shrugged. "Come on, let's go."

She crouched down quietly and signaled Ren to do the same. Soon enough, they were both crawling on their hands and knees to the back entrance. It had been put in the kitchen by their father in case of emergencies. A hole wide enough to fit a grown man, it was perfect for their plan.

"This is a bad idea, Eirlys." Ren started.

"No, it's not. Look, we're almost there."

They reached the back of the house and began slowly pushing aside a pile of bricks and dirt. After a few minutes of digging, the hole was wide enough for someone of their size to enter. A question arose between them.

"..."

"..."

"Who's going in first?"

"Ren... you go first," Eirlys said solemnly.

"Wait, why me?! This was your plan!"

"Just go!" She gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs.

Ren angrily stuck his head through the hole. As soon as he got his head through the door, he instantly felt the temperature change significantly. Confused, he looked up to meet eyes with a very familiar and pissed-off person.

Now, A bit on Ren and Eirlys' mother before the story continues;

Her name was Camri. With wavy red hair and blue eyes, she was attractive and an almost exact replica of her daughter though they possessed different personalities. Camri was a very reserved person around others but soft-hearted and loving towards her own family. However, she still would sometimes reach a breaking point, like now.

"REN ASTER!" Camri began.

The tone of Camri's voice caused Ren to freeze. Mother was very irritated today. Ren quickly crawled through the hole and stood up shakily, nervously anticipating what was about to occur. Although it rarely happened, Mother was terrifying when she was angry.

"Where have you been?!"

"I just went out to play."

Camri folded her hands. "Okay... and where is Eirlys?"

"She's probably gone out by herself."

"I know that's not true. Eirlys is always with you." Camri breathed deeply. "Eirlys!" She screamed, "I know you can hear me! If you don't come out right now, you're in so much trouble!"

A loud sound caught their attention. Camri looked past Ren to see Eirlys' redhead stick through the hole.

"Eirlys!" Camri started.

Eirlys stretched. "I know I'm in trouble."

"Do you know how long I've spent searching for you two?! Eirlys, come with me. Ren, you stay here and wait for your father to deal with you when he gets back."

Eirlys trailed behind a dissenting Camri, listening to the speech about how dirty their clothes were and how she would never let them go outdoors again all while feigning repentance.

A few hours later

"The fishing trip is taking longer than usual," Camri muttered glumly.

Sitting beside an illuminated fire, Camri listened to the dropping rain outside and wondered if her husband would be able to get home before the rain got more troublesome.

Lost in her thoughts, she missed the two shadows skittering across the hall.

"Why are we doing this? It's late, and I'm tired." Ren whispered, his eyes drooping.

"I'm bored, and it's not that late." came the immediate response from Eirlys.

"Okay, but why did you drag me with you?"

Empty silence was her reply. Realizing that she had stopped listening, Ren muttered something unintelligible but nevertheless waited until she escaped her trance and turned to signal him.

"This is our chance while she's distracted."

She placed her index finger lightly on her lips, signaling him to be quiet. Crouching, Eirlys advanced forward. Ren followed, surprised when instead of turning left towards the kitchen, Eirlys headed towards the front door.

Ren tapped Eirlys on the shoulder and motioned toward the kitchen. "Why aren't we going out that way?!"

Eirlys replied, "I think Mom blocked it off. We'd make too much noise if we tried to unblock it."

Ren simply nodded in agreement.

"You ready to run?" Eirlys grinned.

"Why exactly do we have to run?"

"It's raining. We can't let our clothes get even slightly wet. If we run, we can make it to the forest quickly."

Ren shook his head in disagreement. "We can't even stay outside for that long. There's no point in going that far. Dad is supposed to come home sometime today. What if he comes back when we aren't here?"

"It'll be fine." She said indifferently.

"I'm serious, Eirlys."

Eirlys nodded absentmindedly at his words. "Yeah, okay. Let's go."

With that, she gently opened the front door until it was just wide enough to squeeze through. Ren followed behind and crawled out the door while Eirlys held it open for him.

"Okay," Eirlys said behind him. Her hands were still on the door handle, pulling it closer until it was just about to close.

"Ready?" Eirlys asked.

"Yeah."

Eirlys closed the door with a soft click, and they both bolted as fast as they could go on the slippery ground.

Camri was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard the familiar click of the front door. She turned her head from the fire and observed the door, alert, half expecting her husband to come strolling in any time soon, but nothing happened.

"I must be hearing things." she sank back into her chair and re-entered her world again, comforted by the heat of the fire near her.