The Rabbit Hole

The Marmalades

Luna ran through all the possibilities, trying to keep the scratching of her pen quiet for Mariposa, in the other room. Velox paced, the only sign of any anxiety on his part.Lassus was sleeping on our mushroom, a staple in our shelf home and unusual in our bookcase building. Malum was nowhere to be found. And Genus, well Genus was at my side, a shadow. Our compassionate butterfly sister is all too sensitive to every noise around her so every noise we made, we muted. The only respite from this cursed blessing is to fold her antennae but Mariposa would be the first to tell you just how uncomfortable that is. Just 30 tempi ago, she had curled up in pain in response to some scortillum* falling down the Hole. She had heard it a whole 4 tempi* before everyone else and Malum could only leech so much pain from her before getting drunk on it. As Velox would passively recount, "some stultus* fell down the Hole and stole our jar. Mariposa was dying on the floor and Luna was in the that stultus's mind. She refused to tell anyone what she found. Nothing new."

The oldest of the numerous siblings and the most contemplative is Luna. She doesn't reveal much of what she thinks but when she does, boy is it groundbreaking. Velox is the next oldest and the most bored. He constantly appears to not feel anything, no matter how pressing the situation. Lassus is the next oldest and he tends to be half asleep or spewing out dream content. Great for Imaginatron, horrible for daily living. Next up is Malum. She is a bit of a sadist. This is really great for Mariposa, whose pain can be eased by Malum consuming it. To keep Malum in line there is Genus. He is a tiny little man and very, very low maintenance. Genus and I are twins. I'm Eleutheria. I'm more commonly known as Et Eruca. Ettie for short. I watch. And I wait. And then I watch some more. According to Mater, I'm omniscient but none of us really know what that means. Except Luna. Luna knows everything. And last but not least is Mariposa, an angelic butterfly, a true sweetheart. Luna and Mariposa are very close due to Luna's awareness of her mind. This connection keeps Mariposa from completely losing it. Which is what she is just about to do.

Mariposa emerges from her room, antennae twitching. "Where's Malum?" She sings. "Around." Velox replies. Luna glances up, her silvery eyes resting on the horologium*. "5, 4, 3, 2...", she mutters. As her lips form 1, Malum bursts through the door, eyes glinting, her motives hidden from all but Luna. "She's close to the bottom." Malum blurts. Lassus wakes, alert and ready, "5, 4, 3, 2....." he whispers. As his lips form 1. Mariposa faints and convulses on the ground. 2 adjutrix* later, a muffled boom reaches my ears. Luna leans to Malum who is licking her lips in excitement and says, "She's not hurt. Stay." Malum's eyes fall and she guiltily glances to Genus, waiting for her routine scolding. "What did we tell you about feeding on those you don't know? Posie is your only choice. If we catch you feeding on anyone else, you're spending the night in the JAR." Genus chastises. "The JAR that we don't have anymore?" Velox vocalizes. I chime in, "The Doddles have it. She placed it on their shelf as she passed." "Whelp, go get it, Ettie."

I skip to the back of the shelf, where the exit to the Ground is located. "Coming?" "Not today. I need to keep an eye on Malum." Genus and I say to each other telepathically. Genus took it upon himself from a young age to keep Malum in check. Without him, Malum would've killed us all long ago. I grab my cuff from the pot by the exit and slap it on my wrist. As I bound down the Tribunalis to the Doddles' shelf, I wonder how something that large didn't take the Tribunalis. No one falls down the Hole anymore. Not since the Tribunalis was imagined in the Imaginatron. For the longest time, the Domi* that lived higher up would just fall down for Imaginatron and Prandium. Because of that most of the higher Domi grew wings to keep the descent comfortable. The lower Domi didn't really need them.

As I neared the Doddles' shelf, a faint sort of ticking started up. I walked up to their door and lightly tapped my fingers on it. The door swung open of its own accord and our JAR came flying out. A shout of "MADNESS" flew out of their shelf. I caught it and whistled for the door to shut. As I stepped back onto the Tribunalis, I got knocked over by a speeding Male figure. I landed on my butt and let out a small yelp at the sudden jolt of pain. The Male stopped in his tracks and swiveled back to me, concern polluting his scent. "Are you alright?" He asks, his soft lilting voice oddly seductive. "I'd say so." I respond. He reaches out his hand to help pull me up. I grab it and shiver as chills run up my spine. He's a Sator. He pulls me up, overestimating how much effort it would take and I fly from the floor, tripping over the momentum. "You're nothing!" He mutters. I raise my eyebrows, laugh and thank him for helping me up. I move to leave and he grabs my hand yet again. "You never introduced yourself." "Oh, I'm Eruca. Et Eruca. Call me Ettie." All my childhood Mater would tell me to Never introduce myself as Eleutheria. My Dormi doesn't even know my real name. Not even Genus. I go on, "... and you are?" He startles and looks at me with curiosity. "Imber. Imber Sator. I thought you would know."
"Know what?"
"Who I am."
"Why would I?"
"I'm the most famous Sator in the Hole."
"Oh! Isn't that special. I'd love to stay and chat but I gotta get home. See you soon."
"Wait, what makes you think you'll see me?"
"I will."
I scamper off. I can smell his disbelief.

I'm trying new things. Oh boy oh boy. I would really appreciate feedback on its level of horrible-ness. And I LOVE constructive criticism, so don't hold back. Also, let me know if its too cliché.