Finches: Eclosion

My Butterfly

"Pencils, sharpener, notebook, erasers, binder... Is that all?" Mia asked, rifling through the small, cat backpack James had bought her a few days prior.

Looking down at the list in his hand, James scratched at his closely trimmed beard, eyeing the school supplies needed. "Two glue sticks. I don't know if we have glue sticks," he mumbled honestly, glancing up just in time to watch Mia's body disappear down the hall, running for her room. Smiling as she returned the same way she had gone, nearly tripping over the rug in the process, she was clutching two glue sticks like they were precious diamonds.

"Mika gave them to me," she explained quietly at James' eyebrow cock of confusion.

"Well, you'll have to thank him for them then. Okay let's see, what else do you need," he murmured, glancing down at the list, mentally checking off the supplies for the second time. "Scissors? You got them. Pens? Okay, check. Whiteout and dividers. You got those baby?" James asked, peeking up at Mia who was diligently sorting her bag.

"Uh yes," she nodded, sitting back up on the couch and giving her brother a big thumbs up. "I have everything!" she beamed brightly, allowing excitement to radiate off of her happily. Yet, as she caught James' look, Mia blushed, reeling back in the infectious feeling.

Not letting his apprehension show, his own emotion bordering on fear, something he rarely if ever experienced, James rubbed his head, flinging the school list to the side. "Well, now you get my list," he said after a second, watching Mia dutifully sort her various pens and pencils for the third time. "You got the phone I gave you?" he asked seriously, watching her reach into the front pocket of the black cat, pulling out the sleek device with a small wave before replacing it back into the pocket. "You got your mace?" he demanded, waiting for her to pull it too from the pockets he had made her put them in. "Knife?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her as she hesitated.

"Why do I need a knife and mace?" Mia asked simply, holding up her hands with the question. "I don't like the knife anyway," she added, grumbling slightly.

"What if you get separated from your mace or someone takes it. You always have a backup weapon Mia," James barked at her, sounding like the soldier he was, still not deterring his sister's stubbornness in the slightest. For a while no one moved, the pair remaining locked in a sibling standoff, one James knew he could win no matter what. "Amelia Rose Caugwren, go get the knife I bought you," he demanded, his green eyes narrowing considerably at her.

Grumbling to herself, muttering how she thought the school would just confiscate it anyway, Mia slipped from the couch, grudgingly making her way back to her room, moving sluggishly in comparison to how she had been with the glue. A pace that barely increased with James' authoritative command of 'double time'.

It was a good four minutes before Mia was on the couch again, lodging the knife unceremoniously into a side pocket with a flat 'there, you happy?' sort of look at her brother. "I have my necklace too," Mia spoke up, holding the fake locket for James to see, the device from Robert perfectly disguised. "And this one," she smiled, poking at the keychain on her backpack, knowing it calmed James more that she had two, another of his back up plans.

"Alright, alright," James grudgingly sighed, rubbing his neck. "I just... Mia couldn't you stay homeschooled?" he asked, wincing at how selfish he sounded keeping her from social interaction and more normalized lifestyle.

"No," she said simply, folding her arms in defiance. "James I miss Mika and I get sad being all by myself. He's my best friend, I want to see him at school too," Mia stated, frowning slightly at James' inhale. "Plus Robert said its good for me!" she added with a grin.

"I know," James whispered, crouching down to Mia's height. "I'm just worried about you baby. You mean more to me than life itself. I... I'm scared somethings going to happen," he admitted, screwing up his face at what he felt was his own weakness telling his sister his insecurities. "Plus if you spend too much time with Mika he might get a crush on you and then I'd have to kill him," he shrugged in a lighter tone, catching Mia's brief flash of uncontainable happiness. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. No boys yet, for the love of atom one thing at a time Mia! I can't worry about school and boys," James groaned, hanging his head in his hands with his sister's giggle.

"A lot of girls my age like boys," she said simply, listening giddily to James' loud groan of displeasure. "A lot of celebrities too. Bianca likes Kolten, Mr. Fletcher's brother."

At this James' head shot up, looking at his sister seriously. "Tell me you don't like that kid, please Mia, please tell me you have better standards than that," he whined, sounding years younger than his age.

Laughing, Mia shook her head, drawing her knees sweetly up into her chin, watching her brother with amusement. "He's cute but he's too mean," Mia explained, grinning at James who seemed to still not like the 'cute' part.

"He's an idiot," James replied, causing Mia's giggles to redouble. "I'm serious Mia, he's---what?" he asked, cutting his words in half at her small blush. "What?" he repeated.

"Nothing!" Mia laughed, burrowing her head into her knees. "Temperance says its normal for girls my age to like boys but they won't understand because we mature faster," she explained, her words muffled slightly.

"And that is the only reason Mika is still breathing," James grumbled. "Just, stick with school, for now, Atom-damnit. You're already aging me enough with that. Talking about boys with me, older boys, atom Mia you're going to give me a heart attack," he sighed, muttering under his breath as he stood up. "Don't like older boys. They actually know what they're doing," he demanded, pointing at her as she lifted her head to look at him, her smile never fading. "Matter of fact, don't like boys at all. How about girls? Girls are cool. Like girls," James grimaced, frowning with Mia's snort of hilarity at the subject.

"But I like boys," she giggled, falling sideways with James' teasing yet no less stern look.

"You're not allowed to like any boys in your school."

"But what if I do?"

"Amelia Rose!" James snapped, rubbing his eyes furiously as if the friction would somehow erase the idea of Mia liking any boy. "Just... I... You know don't let them... Like, see boys... Shit. You know this is when I could really fucking use mom," he growled, dropping onto the chair nearest her, peeking at his sister out of the corner of his eye.

Climbing over the armrest of the couch, Mia made her way beside James, leaning on him softly. "Do you miss her?" Mia asked gently after a second, looking up into James' dull green gaze with her own brown-blues.

Smiling at this and reaching his arm around Mia, James exhaled slowly. "Yeah, I do," he said honestly, looking down at his sister. "But I see her in you. You have the same nose, the same little freckles, the same dark brown hair, and you also have her laugh," James stated, tickling Mia's side just enough to listen to her giggle again. "But right now I miss her because she'd know just what to do and say," he admitted truthfully. "She'd also give you the talk because I really, really don't wanna do that," he frowned, the look deepening as Mia laughed sharply.

"I already know about sex James. Temperance told me, said it was part of something everyone should learn," she assured, poking her brother on the cheek as he seemed to freeze. "Don't do that," she demanded, rolling her eyes at his behavior. "I don't want sex. I don't, not even with Mik--"

"Stop. Don't -- don't say it," James whined, clamping a hand over Mia's mouth. "It's bad enough you know and you like boys. I don't want to think of my baby sister having... that with...well anyone," he fumbled, glaring at her teasing look sharply. "You know you're going to kill me, Mia," James sighed, letting her go as his sister attempted to bite his hand, slobbering childishly all over it. "Just don't say that word anymore okay? Not until you can legally own a gun and vote."

"What? Sex?"

"Mia!"

"I was just clarifying..."

---- Fin ----