Adventures of a Little Sister

Part One

The meadow was quiet, not much sound could be heard. Birds chirpled a few words to each other, the deer ate the grass but kept their watch for any wolves or foxes that could harm them. All the other creatures went on with their business. Then there was a human sound, a soft humming to be exact. A little girl's voice was the source of the humming, the tune soft as a lullaby. The girl picked a flower from its roots that bore into the ground. She smiled as she looked at the pink petals and white center. Eight petals, exactly, she had counted them to make sure. She loved this kind of flower, it matched the coat she always wore. A pink cloth, the same color as the petals, with cat ears at the top. The ears flicked a bit as the girl started to sniff the flower and giggle. Going back to her humming and looking for more flowers, her black hair began to fall out from the hood. She didn't mind, she liked her hair being loose. It was short, to her shoulders, and hardly go in her way since she always wore the hood when outside.

This girl wasn't alone though, she was far too young to be left alone, being seven, and just turned seven a week ago. A man stood in the distance, cutting down the long grass that had dried out. Another two stood off a little further away, doing the same thing and one that was stacking them into a cart. These men were her brothers, all older than her, being between sixteen and twenty-one. She always went wherever they went, not allowed to be home alone for one, and two, because she loved being around her brothers anyways. She knew when to keep away so she wouldn't get hurt, just like she knew when she could disturb her brothers and when to leave them alone to let them do their work. She was a good girl, as they always told her, and she wanted to stay that way,

"Little Sister." One of them called.

Little Sister. That's what they called her. To her that was her only name, she never knew her real name and her brothers never used it. They always called her Little Sister, or Imouto, a name they had learned from a neighbor in town.

"I'm coming!" She called back, quickly picking up the flowers she had picked and ran towards her brothers.

They were sweaty from working all day, but they still had a bright smile when they watched her run up to them. She gave each of them one of the flowers and they thanks her and either patter her head or kissed her forehead. She giggled at each one she received.

One of her brothers lifted her into the cart where the dead grass was stacked in and started to lead the horse back home. She loved sitting in the cart on their way home, she could see the trees and grass and their field slowly moving out of sight. Her brothers talked of the market and what to plant this season, same old same old to her. She tried to listen, but she didn't understand all of it, so she lost interest in it quickly. The girl lied back and watched the clouds, trying to think of what they looked like. One looked like a cat. Another like a turtle. One more looked like a puffball.

A puffball.

"Maimu!" The girl cried, quickly sitting up again. "Where's Maimu?"

Her brothers stopped and turned around as they heard her yell. Little Sister looked around the dead grass in a panicked motion, tossing some of the grass out. Two brothers quickly caught the grass, knowing they had to keep it, and looked at the girl as she sat there, her tears forming.

"Calm down Imouto." One said, putting the grass back in the cart. "You left him at home today, remember?"

The girl blinked, tilting her head a bit. Thinking back to the morning, she did remember. Her little puffball of a friend, Maimu, was left at home since it was sleeping when they had to leave. The girl slowly nodded, admitting that he was right. She felt a little embarrassed that she had forgotten that and freaked out. Her brothers laughed a bit, one placing a hand on her head.