Sleeping Child

"I swear, this girl…"

The ever-present scowl on Hipper's face deepened when she saw the state Eugen was in.

On top of returning to their room very, very late, Eugen had been drinking heavier than usual, and she must have been so out of it when she returned because she was sleeping in her uniform. There were beer cans scattered on the floor, all telling Hipper that Eugen must have continued drinking even after she got back.

Fighting a yawn as she'd lost a good amount of sleep waiting for her sister, Hipper moved closer and gave Eugen the most vigorous shaking she could manage, though the act failed to provoke even a slight stir.

"Dummkopf," Hipper griped; they will be late at this rate.

Seeing no other choice, Hipper scrambled around the room to gather Eugen's spare uniform before returning to her. Drawing a deep breath, she hoisted her sister off the bed.

***

Despite her thin frame, Hipper was stronger than she looked—but Eugen wasn't exactly light either. Thus, with her leaning on Hipper, one arm around her sister's shoulder, their progress had been slow—especially with Eugen being unresponsive and her legs hardly moving.

"I swear, after this, I'm giving you the yelling of a lifetime, Eugen," Hipper growled. She finally felt Eugen stir a bit—but that was the only response she got.

"Huh, what happened to Eugen?"

Hipper turned to the owner of the voice—Weser. She waved at the pair.

"Taking your time as usual, huh?" Hipper sneered, but Weser laughed it off.

"Of course. Now, about my question…"

"What else? She's dead drunk."

"Oooh, I see," Weser tapped her chin. "Might you need help carrying the potato sack?"

That got Hipper laughing a bit and Eugen to stir slightly again.

"Fine, but not because I'm having a hard time, you hear?"

"Haha, sure, sure."

"She must have been through a wild night," Weser remarked when she was able to take a closer look at Eugen.

"…I can imagine. I wish Eugen would just tell me her troubles instead of drinking them away."

"Oooh, that's so sweet of you."

"Sh—shut up! I...I didn't mean it! It's just… she'll trouble everyone if she's like this!" Hipper barked, but Weser's continued to smile despite the outburst.

"Really, Hipper, you don't give yourself enough credit. I can still recall how you helped a lot when I was a newcomer…and I cannot help but think, 'that's my sister for you. She's so awesome.'"

"…Heh," Hipper couldn't entirely hide the smirk forming on her lips. "Let's…just walk faster."

"Sure," Weser affirmed, glancing at Eugen to check on her. Although she was apparently unconscious, she could see her smiling—perhaps Eugen had overheard their conversation? She would like to believe so.

"Yeah, our sister is awesome, isn't she?" Weser whispered.

She swore Eugen seemed to nod at the question.