The Gardenkeeper's Daughters

Natrina- 6

 My sister and I have never been at a loss for conversation topics, so whenever we aren't talking with each other, it usually indicated that we were at each other's throats. Our mother joked (when we were very little and Fen was still around) that if we ever started fighting and stopped talking to each other, Verhamera herself would descend from the heavens to ask about how silent it had suddenly gotten across the worlds.

However, now I sit right next to Lotus and she's completely quiet and so am I. It's so unbearably awkward that I blurt out, "You know, just because we don't have a third wheel to make the conversation more interesting doesn't mean I can't talk anymore."

"I know. I'm just worried about them."

"Vivian and Aislyn? Aislyn seemed very happy and how Vivian feels is really none of our business, Lotus."
"Naaaaat, Vivian is my friend too!" Lotus whines.

"We just met her!" I snap back, trying to cover how resentful I am towards the dark-furred Canis.

"That doesn't matter! I want to make a bunch of friends! At the very least, I'm allowed to feel compassion for others, aren't I?"

"Of course you are. It's just... these aren't your problems, Lotus. You don't know that Vivian wants or needs your help."

"I care about her." She says quietly, "I know she needs help. I can just sense it! I just have to believe I can make things better. If you don't believe you can help others, it doesn't matter if you have fancy wings... or even if you're the daughter of Verhamera. If you decide not to help anyone, you're not a hero at all."

Taken aback by her comment, I struggle to find a suitable retort and come up dry. My sister's getting a lot better at arguing and though I don't like to admit I'm wrong, she has a point. I guess I just don't like sharing my sister with anyone else. "Sometimes you can only help others by letting them deal with things themselves and only offering emotional support if they ask for it. You have no idea what Vivian's problems are, you just have this weird fascination with her." I sigh.

"First off, I was just trying to be nice and maybe I do want to be friends with her, which is not weird and also none of your business. You don't want to emotionally support anyone anyways, do you Nat? You just don't want to deal with her at all." Lotus snarls. "It's not my fault you've been so rude and touchy all the time since Mother died."

Anger flares up inside of me. "Lotus, that was six days ago! How have you gotten over it already? Doesn't our mother mean anything to you?"

"Of course she does. I just thought... whoever our mother used to be, the Canis we used to hear about? She used to be someone kind, respected, and most of all, she always had hope. She took Fen in on the verge of death, an outcast from a rival pack, and she healed him up. She always talked about her dreams of peace. He took all of that away from her. He took everything away from us, Natrina, and I- I just want to be what my mother couldn't." She's shaking like Aislyn was, but this time it's with sadness instead of apprehension and fear. She falls back onto the mess of wool and pelts that's been arranged in the corner of the room and I fall next to her.

"Lotus."

"N-n-natrina?"

"Lotus, close your eyes."
She sniffs. "They're already closed."

"Good. Now, imagine we're back at home." I say, trying to calm her down.

"We didn't have pelts this nice at home." She says, her lips curling into a half frown as she squirms a bit in the fluffy fur pelts.

"We had flowers like these." I argue, looking around for some evidence and immediately finding what I was looking for. I jump up on a large wooden plate with some large sticks propping it up and grab a large bunch of bright blue berries, which smell good enough to eat. "See, there are starberries! You know that those only grow in our forest, right? Well, there and here, obviously. Remember when you said you weren't going to eat meat anymore and tried to eat nothing but starberries for almost an entire moon?"

"That was really stupid of me." she mumbles, burying herself further into the pelts, "Why do you have to remember all of this?"

"That's just what siblings do." I tell her, moving in to press my nose against hers. Her snout scrunches up as I do so and she huffs loudly, turning away from me.

With a sigh, I look away again, and begin consuming the starberries myself. "You know, I could really use a nap. The sun's probably going down."

"May your tongue always stay sharp, Natrina."

"May your heart never grow older, Lotus."