Trudy went to the market square a bit ago to pick up some more raspberries and greens. I know Shurik is in the kitchen cleaning up the flood still.

As for me, well, I haven't left the bed since Trudy walked me to it.

My brother appears in the doorway to the kitchen looking tired. He walks over to me while picking the Rasblood baby up from its basket on their bed. Poppy is in her own basket next to the other sprout's. I wonder if they came up with a name yet?

He lays the sprout down beside me as if expecting the 'offering' to make me forgive him. I turn over facing the wall of the tent.

"Come on, now. Don't be sad. I...love you," his voice breaks at the end. I flinch feeling his hand settle on my shoulder. "You can go tonight, or, now, even."

"Really?"

"Yes," Shurik murmurs.

I turn over.

Goosebumps creep up my arms seeing his face hovering just above mine. In a panic, I sit up bumping into his head as I awkwardly maneuver around his huge frame.

He leans back a little, tugging his purple robe around his naked chest.

"It's not wrong to look at me."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Shurik."

"Don't play pretend. Why else are you still here, sweetie pie?" I tense up feeling him place a light kiss on my forehead. "You'll always be my sprout, but you need to find your own way now."

"What?"

"I'm just sharing my thoughts, Sadie. No need to get so defensive. No one is ever going to love you more than your family. You'll always be loved most here, but if you want to leave, I can't argue anymore. Oh, I made you breakfast."

Dumbfounded, I watch him fly over into the kitchen.

When he returns, he holds a wooden plate with raspberry muffins and jam on his lap. He doesn't move to hand me the plate. I'm too preoccupied carrying the Rasblood baby to reach over myself.

I try to sit up more, but lay back down when I see him eating off the plate himself. His purple eyes watch me carefully, but I don't know what he's looking to find.

"I'm sorry about last night. I just got this strange feeling between us," he says through a mouthful of muffin. "It's quite unsettling for me to have discovered your...feelings. Why haven't you talked about it?" he says while offering me half of the muffin he's eating.

Feeling a little hungry, I take it. I'm just going to have to get used to raspberry food I suppose until our field recovers.

"Shurik, you are the one who made a move on me."

"What are you talking about?"

I scoff while feeding the sprout the muffin instead.

"What's wrong with you? Stop acting like you don't know. You threw a fit and punched the mirror. Then, you decided to kiss me when you knew it was wrong!"

His mouth forms into a hard line.

"I'm doing what I can. I didn't sleep last night because you wouldn't forgive me. I can't help how I feel. How terrified it makes me. That's why Trudy is here." He pulls the rasblood sprout away from me. "I'll have her and our sprout. You get Poppy. When she comes back, I'll let you leave. She deserves to know why you hate her, so, I think you better explain why you intend to go."

"I don't hate her, Shurik."

"Hate who?" Trudy calls from the kitchen.

Shurik's wings flutter behind him, carrying him up and away from me as he caters to his pair.

I hear them putting away the food Trudy brought, but I don't bother getting up to help. Adrenaline kicks in as I come to decide they can both take care of the sprouts. They can both take care of each other. Trudy will make Shurik forget about me.

I quietly move from my bed and pick my tote off the floor near the dresser. I go around my bed near the wall of the tent and pluck away the five stakes I've slowly been loosening up since my arrival here. When I pluck them out, the strings of the tent come loose enough for me to lift the bottom of the thick fabric wall up. Then, I crawl underneath hearing them still moving around in the kitchen.

My wings feel weird, but I don't let the slight agitation in my back stop me from soaring right up to the sky. They shiver violently behind me again and I scrunch my eyebrows together. I reach above the tent when they decide to seize up behind me. Air rushes by me as I plummet back down to the ground. I land on the top of the tent, but slide off of it where it dips from my loosening of the tent stakes.

A second later, I roll off of the thick fabric and land far below onto the hard ground. My wings crunch sharply beneath my weight. A scream tears through me as I feel their delicate bone structure crush.

***

The string lights above are dim in the night. A sob bubbles in my throat as I roll onto my side with a whimper feeling something move behind me. Remembering my fall, I try to move my wings, but they don't respond.

My wings will heal naturally on their own. It will take a few days. When I was younger, and still getting used to them, I had fallen many times.

A sharp gasp escapes me when I feel the feather-light touch of a breeze brushing against me. I recognize the feeling. It's my brother's wings drifting back and forth in his sleep. They dangle above me as he lays on his stomach beside me-a good arm's distance away thankfully. My stomach flips when I notice I'm in their bed instead of Marvin's.

I don't see Trudy anywhere.

Nervous, I hop out of bed in search of her. The lights in the kitchen are glowing somewhat. However, no one's inside, but the tent entrance has been pulled open. The windchimes outside blow around loudly, clanking together in the wind.

"Come back to bed, sweetie pie."

I jerk around not having heard him come in the kitchen. Shurik walks over to me, stepping around me to close the entrance.

"Trudy went out for a walk."

He carries Poppy in his huge muscular arm. He looks out the entrance instead of closing it like I thought he would. I'm tempted to snatch Poppy from him, but, instead, I follow after him into the living space on the other side of the kitchen.

"At night?" I ask.

"Yes, now you need to go back to bed so your wings can heal faster."

Irritated, I ignore him and turn on the oven. I'll bake all night long if I have to. I'm not going to sleep again without Trudy here.

Shuruk shouldn't have moved me in their bed.

He laughs lightly behind me while I fly up to a cabinet and bring the flour tin down to the counter. I get to work, pouring out the flour into a bowl. Then I find the sugar, salt and other ingredients I need for pie. It won't be strawberry, but I don't care. I just need something to do to keep busy.

"Alright, suit yourself," he breathes into my neck.

Startled, I drop the pie plate.

"Shurik!"

I had just finished rolling out the pie crust and putting it in the pie plate with the prepared raspberry filling. Now it's all over the floor...and me. I grunt in agitation while swiping a rag from the sink to clean up the mess.

He steps back watching me clean up the mess while pulling out a chair from the kitchen table. I glare up at him as he watches me clean.

My ears perk up when I hear Poppy crying in the other room. My hands are still covered in berry goop.

"Can you check on her?"

"Yes," he replies.

My brother comes back into the kitchen with her.

"Come look, Sadie. It's a miraculous change."

I stand up with a sigh wondering what he's going on about. When I come to his side, my heart swells with guilt seeing the sprout's eyes already turning a shade of purple like mine already have. I only discovered it last night in the bathroom before Shurik broke the mirror. It's just one of the many side effects of eating too many raspberries.

"It's unnatural," I whisper.

Shurik pretends he doesn't hear me. He speaks in a soft voice to Poppy while handing her off to me when I sit down beside him.

"Looks like you and mommy have the same eye color now."

"Mommy?"

"Well-"

My heart hammers, I stand up with new worry seeing the time on the stove. I am not going to let him finish explaining.

"Shurik, what's taking Trudy so long?"

"I don't know."

🍓