The Gardenkeeper's Daughters

Lotus- 1

My sister is in a mood again. I can always tell by the awkward gait she walks with when she's sad, her tail swishing like a viper, ready to strike, and her Verhamera's Horns pressed back as far as they can go.

I'm off in the clouds, thinking about my mother, so I guess I'm not helping much either, but I can hardly help it. I just can't stop thinking about my mother, and the way she turned when I called her full name. It was actually just a guess, well-planned as it seemed in retrospect.

I was trying to imitate his voice.

I guess I did a good job.

I shuffle over towards the pile of prey, which is under vigilant guard by several larger Canis. Like us, they're vividly colored, almost like a field of flowers. The floral theme is what gives us an identity, unites us, so you'd think that the daughters of the one who tends to those plants would be revered by the pack.

You'd be wrong, of course, but it's still a nice thought.

One of the Canii looks down at me, his mottled violet coat blowing in the wind. "Ay, it's Lotus and Natrina. How are you two doing? Busy tending the flowers?" There's a sort of pity deep in his eyes, but it's only with the best of intentions.

Natrina doesn't answer him, but instead takes some squirrel from the pile and I take a bird. I not respectfully to them as she walks in the opposite direction, unnerved by their presence.

"Be careful! Don't wander too far away." yells the purple Canis.

"There are suspicious characters in the woods." notes a lovely blue Canis by his side. I think I recognize her from somewhere, but bad with names as I am, I wouldn't know. I amiably continue along with my sister, who's picking up the pace.

"Natrina!" I reprimand her. "We could at least have a conversation with them for once!"

"Sorry, I was just... a bit occupied."

"Thinking about Mother?"

She gulps. "Maybe. Yes. I don't know. I just wish that she would pay a little more attention to us than her plants."

"I'm sure she loves us. It's not like we can do anything about us. It's not her fault she thinks about our father every time she sees us." I say, trying to reassure her, pressing my head against hers.

Natrina pulls away suddenly, looking up at the sky. I know it's bad when she avoids eye contact. It's one of her cues. "Lotus... I want to run away."

I feel something cold sink into my heart, only to be replaced with a burning indignation. "Natrina, we can't ditch the pack!" The grass begins growing very quickly around my paws.

"No. You're right. I'm completely crazy." She looks down towards my paws. "I don't know. I just want to get out of here. Have the adventure we always wanted. There has to be something better for us."

"I hear autumn will be setting in soon."

It's a joke between us. When I was little, I used to have dreams all the time about dark figures talking about odd and mundane things in ominous tones. I used to be scared of them, but they slowly became a joke as I got older, and now I guess I believe them. Change will be here, if only for the worse.

Natrina lies down by a tree and looks out into the forest. I lie down next to her and look out at the trees. They're still bright green, but the way they rustle in the wind brings to mind a certain scent. The chill breezes, the leaves on the cusp of turning... we will be eight turns of the world old. "We'll finally get our jobs soon. No more making plants grow and loitering, waiting for them to tell us there's open space for another flank member on the hunts."