Beginnings of Worry

// Another episode today✊At last, time is beginning to move. Our protagonists are beginning to grow uneasy. Did I mention I changed up the cover? Still not completely happy with it, but at least it's not tacky anymore. Hey, please don't forget to drop me a comment/subscribe if you're enjoying the story, maybe a powerstone vote or a review. Thank you for reading<3

Sonata descended the slightly slippery slope down the decline to the cave, water droplets dripping off her wet white hair. A completely exhausted doll like Sophia slumped with her arms and legs wrapped tightly around her sister, drifting off if she wasn't completely asleep. Sonata took care not to slip and fall as she held the water and clothes pot tight in her arms, crouching down to make those first few bits of the trail that were steeper than the rest.

For a brief second, a fraction of a hope teased the back of her mind as she stepped into the darkness of the secluded cavern, which was silenced again when she found the darkness as alone as she'd left it. How long had it been since her mother had left, again? ...Three days.

Even if her mother was a little faster without two children slowing her down, to expect her to be back anytime soon was silly, wishful thinking.

"Sophia?" She whispered, setting the stuff down and lightly tapping the tired child's hand. "We're back, Little One."

"Mh..." She could feel the weight of her sister's head shifting. Her arms unclamped from around Sonata and then she nearly just fell to the ground, of Sonata hadn't caught her by her waist before the plummeted the entire way. Still, she felt like a wobbling marionette in her arms as Sonata put her down, sleepily rubbing her eyes and blinking her eyes to adjust them to the darkness.

"Achoo-" Sophia covered her nose. Sneeze! ...Sneeze!

"You're cold?" Sonata tried to brush the water from her ringlets, but her hair was already cold and wet, and the dampness wouldn't go away no matter how much she brushed.

She did what she could to wring out the water and spread the hairs out, then lead Sophia over to where their makeshift bed had been and draped the heavy cloak over her body.

Sophia squeaked. Sonata pulled the cloak properly over her head and wrapped it across her front. Sophia wiggled out of it and extended her arms out to her sister, her brows contorted into a frown.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Mh" she whined.

Sonata huffed, pulling the smaller being into her embrace and wrapping the thick cloak properly over her again. "Don't fall sick," she whispered. "I won't know how to take care of you."

Sophia wiggled until she'd seemed to have found a comfortable spot in her sister's arms, and let herself pass out from exhaustion, leaving a trapped Sonata to stare out at the midday forest from the cave, running her fingers through Sophia's hair.

She stared out into the forest as though their mother might show up anytime soon, despite her better sense, and then her eyes turned to the place where they'd stashed their food.

...If Mamà didn't somehow come back within the next few days, how long was what they had now going to last them?

Sonata felt cold panic begin to set into her chest, and she held her breath, nibbling at her lip. The rabbits, she should have caught at least one. It probably wouldn't have tasted very good, and it would have been sad to see it go, but at least she would be able to preserve these rations a little longer. If she got distracted this easily, opportunities to stay alive were going to brush right by her.

She brushed her fingers through Sophia's hair, under the cloak, undoing a knot.

If they were going to stay alive.

Sophia stirred. Sonata stopped moving but soon enough her small face was peering up from the sheets.

"Was I too rough? You have my apologies, I'll be a little gentler."

She patted Sophia's head back down to her lap. "It's okay, you can sleep a little longer."

Sophia rolled her head over to hide from the light.

"..." Sonata took an uneasy inhale. "Do you want to go see the rabbits tomorrow too?"

Sophia's one gleamy green eye looked up. She turned around and nodded.

Sonata mildly smiled, pressing her head against the large rock behind her.

...

Her sister was warm.

That was what came to mind as Sophia, having lulled back to and fro from the embrace of sleep, finally determined to open her eyes and pull herself out from the warmth of the makeshift bed.

It had been several days since Mamà had left them. Although she'd asked her sister where she went that very first day, she didn't remember what her answer was anymore, she didn't even remember completely understanding what her sister had said, just the feelings it brought her.

Uneasiness, fear, uncertainty.

A tremor hit the base of her lungs, making her breath come out in a raspy gasp. That feeling was coming over her again. She didn't remember what it was anymore, what she remembered that shook her to the core so much. Just that she was devastated until she made it go away, just that it would overwhelm her if she didn't deny it whenever it came. Her fingers were cold, having been out and exposed into the open air of the cave. She pulled the blankets up to her shoulders from both sides, shivering as she went back in, all but her face.

It was pretty late into the morning. She could see the reflection of the bright sun from the exit of the cave a corner away.

"Sis?" She murmured, shaking Sonata's shoulder. Sonata squeezed her eyes shut and pulled her balled up hands up to cover her face. Sophia leaned forwards on her palms, bringing her face to level with her sisters'.

She looked exhausted. It wasn't just now either, she'd always looked exhausted when she went to sleep.

Still a little cold, Sophia wiggled her way back into her sister's embrace again.

"Mmn"

Sophia buried her face into her burrow before Sonata could fully stir.

"So...Sophia?" Sonata yawned.

Sophia squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't know why, but the thought of her sister catching her sneaking back into a stolen hug was embarrassing.

Sonata played with her yellow ringlets of hair, curly spirals and waves that went down to her hips technically, but thinned considerably at the base and fluffed to look much shorter because of their curls. "What are you doing?"

"Mmmh" Sophia muffledly replied.

Sonata smirked. "Good morning."

Sophia looked up. Beyond her ability at noticing beforehand, a few tiny tears still lingered at the base of her eyelids from her making her eyes look twinkly and watery.

Sonata's smirk fell. She propped herself up on her elbow, caressing Sophia's tiny cheek and brushing away her hair with one hand, a concerned look on her face. "Sophia? Sophia are you okay?"

"Huh?" Sophia looked down and around at herself, noticing the tears on the rim of her vision and rubbing them away roughly. "I...no, I..." Sophia sat up, rubbing the dampness of her hands off on her dress, and then stopped. She was going to worry her big sister if she kept at it like this. Sophia took a deep breath, maturely composing her body and her voice. "I'm okay." She reassured, looking up to meet Sonata's more emerald, just as vivid eyes.

Sonata seemed to buy into her statement, though elder-sibling-like concern still lingered on her face. She brushed her greenish white hair back behind her hears and straightened it out though it was already pretty neat in Sophia's opinion, a fidgety habit she'd grown to possess.

Sophia, having reconsidered her 'I'm okay,' crawled up to her sister and buried herself against her body again. "I'm cold," she revised.

Sonata hugged her by habit, though by now Sophia was more like a doll whose hair she was used to ruffling and untangling and playing with as she got lost in thought than another person she consciously embraced.

Sonata's eyes drifted again towards the place where they'd hidden their food. Her eyes were a little puffy from all the worrying lately, and her movements were a little jittering. It had been over a week since their mother left, and she still didn't have any nearer of an idea when she'd be back. The food she'd left with them had began to considerably run out. The days Sonata and Sophia had spent chasing rabbits and birds had proved nearly fruitless, with the minuscule one single time Sonata'd managed to catch a rabbit she didn't have the nearest clue how to go about killing it or preparing it to eat, and in her hesitation the small animal had kicked free and darted fast away.

She wrapped her arms around her sister.

Did she know? Surely, she noticed. But maybe she didn't have the common sense to put two and two together yet, maybe she wouldn't know they were in danger of starving unless her older sister let the panic show on her face. If that was the case, then she wouldn't be able to forgive herself for making her sister unnecessarily worry that way. She didn't need to worry herself with tears and nightmares, it wasn't as though she would be able to help.

They'd moved their stuff and their sleeping place further into the cave one day, when they came back to find rodents had found their food stash and proceeded to raid it and make a mess. It was better hidden and they were probably a bit safer now, better secluded inside the dark void, but it was harder to tell what was going on outside, to see any sunlight at all.

Sonata picked up her sister with a little bit of effort, and the blanket along with them. "I want to see outside," she explained, walking to the front of the cave and sitting down again with one of they walls to her back, the frigid morning air tickling her cheek. It had been Summer only a little while ago. Sometime between the long journey here with their mother and them waiting in the cave and wondering the woods staying put for her return, Autumn had begun to fall on the forest.

"We should go berry picking again." She stated, thinking back to the bushes they'd been casually plucking during their travels now and then. "The green ones from before are almost all ripened."

Sophia murmured "I'm tired of berries...want bread."

Sonata played with a ringlet of her hair, turning it over and watching it bounce. Swoop, swoop. "Just a little longer, okay?" She ruffled her hair, messing it up. It had been over a week since their mother had left. The more time passed, the more uncontrollable dead found itself bottled up at the base of Sonata's stomach. Where was she? What was she doing right now, was she with their father yet? Was she safe, would she be able to come back to them on time? She nibbled her lip anxiously. They needed her to come back, she needed to be able to trust in her mother to just come back for them. Occasionally though, the lingering pessimistic suspicion would return that their nobody was planning to come back for them in the first place, that this was all just a trap and they were being abandoned here. A thought that, despite her best judgement, she just couldn't completely swallow back down with all the trust issues she already had with her family.

"Just a little longer," she consoled herself and her sister. "Mamà will be back for us soon."