Without Her Sister

The pixies had multiplied, in the time she'd dozed off.

Sophia watched the glowing specks of light that fluttered back and forth the dark cave. They buzzed around the entrance, drawn in by curiosity, hesitant to go back into the storm. Sometimes they came close to her, but they didn't come close enough to touch her. It had taken her too long to realize it was because of the sleeping dragon behind her.

She hugged her cold fingers under her arms, cold against her sister's side. Specks of dried up blood painted her arms from when she'd tried a hand at clawing open the well-frozen chunk of browning meat by the entrance, only managing to get colder and more dirty. She didn't know how to light a fire without her sister's firebreath. And you needed dry wood to light one, even a baby knew that.

The glow of a single fairy reflected in her green eyes, as it drew closer, fluttering just above her head.

"Do you have food?"

She watched as the fairy settled down not far away on the sand, taking a couple of small steps back and gesturing with its tiny, insect like body.

The sprite furrowed her brows.

"I can't go out, I'll freeze."

Her vivid green eyes moved to the other pixies circling her, some of whom nearly drew close, seemingly forgetting and renoticing the dragon behind her. One nearly came close enough to grab her finger, leaving one arm outstretched like it had followed through in doing so and had pulled it slightly forwards. The tiny being made eye contact with her, turned towards the exit, and pointed, looking back at her. Several other pixies, which had paid her no mind as long as she'd been ignoring them, had taken interest in the girl again.

Sophia tensed, retreating slightly into the protection of her sister's side and the blanket, until the slow, rare breathing of the sleeping dragon calmed her nerves. She looked down at her feet, uncovered by accident, and up at the pixies. She hugged her stomach, under the covers.

Slowly, she braved leaving her hiding place, acutely aware of the many, many small eyes fixed upon her. She stumbled and wobbled a little on her half asleep, weakened legs, the world flashing in blind spots here and there that she couldn't quite focus on. Some of the fairies fluttered nearer, and some of them gently lifted her arm by the hand, essentially holding it, and she reoriented herself around them gratefully, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes.

The pixies pulled her hand forwards, and she followed them groggily. More pixies neared the procession, some fluttering alongside her path, others joining the ones holding her arm till nearly all her fingers and parts of her forearm were being firmly pulled, some fluttering by her hair and closer and closer to her face.

They were halfway across the cave when Sophia stopped. She pulled her arm back, and the pixies dissipated, a few lingering to watch as she turned and hurried back into the cave. Sophia tugged at her clothes as she watched her sister's unconscious face for any final signs of movement. Slowly, she pulled the big cloak off of her sister's sleeping form. It was still warm from Sonata's heat. She hugged it around herself, and it trailed behind her as she walked.

Some of the pixies fluttered down to fly alongside her. Some of them pulled at her skirt. But her small hands were occupied holding the big cape snugly around her body, and many of the pixies only trailed from afar, as though the scent itself of the dragon that was left upon the cloak was enough to deter them.

Sophia slowed at the entrance. She looked down at the beginnings of frost, where the white and crystalline structure began covering the rock, mud, and sand.

One hand dropped from the cloak, her holding the two ends together with just one now, and the fairies took the opportunity and held her large, humanoid fingers in their tiny ones, drawing her arm up and urging her forwards. Some grabbed ringlets of her hair, the sleeves of her faded purple garment. It was subtle, but their glows were like little whiffs of heat.

She took one step forwards, cringing as she cold made contact with her tiny foot. The rocks and sand were cold enough.

She shivered as the fairies pulled her forwards, second guessing herself as she took another step, then another, the snow only rising higher, past her knees and up her body, at her stomach and threatening to get higher. It was heavier, too, the higher up it reached.

"H-help-" she called out to the tiny lights pulling her forwards, as she misstepped into an indent on the forest floor and the snow beginning to bury her in its height. "I can't..." She could feel the beginnings of that stifled feeling inside her chest. She'd only just gotten healthy again. She hugged the cloak tighter around herself and tried to retreat, but the forces pulling against her body had increased in number. She struggled briefly to resist going face first into the wall of snow before her, but the pulling was too strong.

She covered her face, the cloak shielding her from the faint breeze.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

She suddenly thrashed and slapped at the buzzing, insect-size beings. She backed off and fought her way backwards the way she'd come, the ice and snow clinging to her cloak and the parts of her clothes and legs that came exposed when she couldn't just use it like a shield.

Hah...hah...!

Her knees went weak at the entrance to the cave, and she pressed her hands against a rocky wall. She looked up towards her sister, and regained the willpower to race up to her. She nestled herself against her side, pulling one of her claws closer to better shield her. She looked up towards the entrance, and the pixies had begun to dissipate.

She hid her head against her sister's arm, waiting for them to to away.

She was still hungry.