Alone

Eighteen

"No way! Chicken is the best!"
Twist gave Benny a teasing shove.
"No, it's noodles." She argued. "They're better." Benny stuck his tongue out at Twist.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes!" Benny started laughing.
"Only we could have such a long conversation about food." He said. Twist laughed as well, realizing that they had been talking about their meal preferences since sunrise.
"Well..." Twist trailed off, noticing someone emerging from the forest. It was Dart, and she looked fuming.
"Uh, do you mind if we continue this conversation later?" She asked Benny. He smiled.
"Not at all." He said. Twist untwined he tail from Benny's and padded towards her sister.
"You okay?" She asked. Dart looked up, her eyes full of fiery rage.
"Luke's a slimeball." She spat. Twist felt her fur bristle. She didn't know if Dart had ever been so openly mad.
"Do you wanna talk about that?" She asked hesitantly. Dart paused.
"Okay." She said finally.
"Come on, lets get some privacy." Twist meowed, leading Dart to the boilers.

...

"He asked if I wanted to be with him." Dart explained. "I said no."
Twist nodded. "Okay." Dart took a shaky breath.
"Do you know what he said?" She mewed, anger starting to fill her once again.
"He asked if he heard me correctly." Dart hissed. She dug her claws into the rocky ground and scattered pebbles with an angry lash of her tail.
"As if he just expected me to say yes. As if he was SO sure that I was in love with him!" Dart's voice started rising.
"Okay, I can understand how that would make you mad." Twist said hesitantly. She seemed to be desperately trying to keep Dart positive. "But it's okay now, right?"
Dart shook her head. "No, it's not." Twist laid her tail across Dart's back. Dart felt some of her anger and sadness loosen its grip on her. Twist was helping.
"I'm still mad about our parents." Dart said suddenly. "I'm scared that I'm going to hurt people, just like dad hurt mom." Twist shook her head violently.
"Never." She said. "You would never do something like that."
"But..." Dart paused. "What if it's in my blood?" Twist seemed surprised at this.
"It's not in your blood. Dad didn't pass down his jerky tendencies or anything." She said. "Besides, we never knew him. He couldn't have taught us jerky behaviour." Dart nodded at this. It felt good to hear Twist explain why she wasn't bad. It made her feel better. Dart smiled a little, comforted by the thought.
"Thanks." She said. Her smile soon faded. Now that her rage had passed, she saw the encounter with Luke in a more reasonable light. Sure, he hadn't been nice, but she had been cruel.
"I think I've already hurt people, Twist." Dart mewed. "I hurt Luke." Twist frowned.
"It's not like you say that kind of stuff all the time." Twist said. "You've been under a lot of stress recently." Dart nodded slowly.
"Yeah, but I still hurt him." Dart said. "What if he hates me now?" Twist licked Dart's cheek comfortingly.
"Just say sorry." She said. Dart nodded again.
"I will." She hesitated. "But I don't feel brave enough." Twist smiled at Dart reassuringly.
"Then wait until you do." She stood up. "It's going to be okay." Dart smiled. Twist could certainly make it feel that way.

...

Twist returned to Benny's side, sitting down and twining her tail with his.
"Sorry, I just had to make sure she was okay." Twist mewed. Benny smiled.
"That's fine." He responded. "I was talking to Puff and Rusty while you were gone anyway. I wasn't bored." Twist turned, noticing that Puff and Rusty were still here.
"Hi." Twist meowed to them.
"Hey." Rusty meowed back. Puff just smiled.
"What were you guys talking about?" Twist asked.
"Luke, actually." Puff said. Twist's eyes widened.
"Why him?" She asked.
Has the news about his rejection gotten around already? She thought. Dart probably wouldn't want that.
"He's been acting odd for a little while." Puff said. "Really angry and sad. It started when he came back from the forest." Puff looked concerned, and shot a glance towards Luke. He was sitting alone on a bench, glaring at his paws. He really did look angry.
"Do you know anything about why?" Rusty asked. Twist hesitated. She didn't like lying, but if it was for Dart...
"No." She meowed. "I don't." There was a moment of silence, and Twist thought they'd figured out she wasn't telling the truth.
"M'kay." Rusty said at last. Puff frowned.
"Oh, I was hoping someone would know." She said. Puff walked away, shooting one last look at Twist.
"Thanks anyway." She said. Rusty followed his daughter, and it was just Twist and Benny again.
"So..." Benny started. "What do you wanna do now?" Twist narrowed her eyes as she thought.
"Horse fields... eat... talk..." Twist muttered the options out loud, not realizing so until Benny pointed it out.
"You're thinking out loud." He said quietly, poking Twist in the side. She frowned, growing silent.
"Sorry." She muttered.
"Don't say that." Benny said back. Twist smiled.
"Anyways, what do you want to do?" She asked.
"I dunno." Benny replied. "What do you wanna do?"
"I dunno." Twist said. "What do you wanna do?"
"Wow." Benny mewed. "We are very indecisive." Twist laughed. The two eventually settled on talking, and had a calm conversation about the sunset.
"I'm gonna take a nap." Twist said after a while. Her eyelids were starting to grow heavy, and she felt that she wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer.
"Okay, I hope you have a nice nap." Benny said, smiling. Twist smiled back before padding off towards the boilers. She wasn't surprised to see that Dart was still underneath them.
"Have you apologized yet?" Twist asked, settling down beside her sister. Dart frowned and shook her head.
"I don't know if I can talk to him again." She said. "Not after what happened." Twist licked Dart's cheek in an effort to comfort her.
"It's all going to be okay." She said. Dart smiled, chucking slightly.
"Do you remember when we used to sing that song to each other? When we were first alone?" Dart asked. Twist grinned wider.
"I do." She replied. The memory was a fond one, and Twist couldn't help feeling warm inside at the thought of it.
"When the world turns upside down," Dart sang quietly. Twist joined in on the second verse, and they sang the song together.
"It doesn't mean it's over. When everything changes, it doesn't mean the end is closer. We are together, and that's what matters. The world will keep spinning, despite the hazards. We can make it, don't be afraid. We'll stick together, 'cause that's how we're made." The sisters smiled at each other, finishing the song.
"I love that song." Twist said quietly. Dart nodded.
"Me too." She replied. The two started to drift off to sleep, but were awoken by a frightened voice.
"Twist, Dart! Luke is gone!"