Rivynn couldn't understand why she and her brother, Rain, were kept chained away from everyone else. They were told it was to keep them safe from the shadows... But what if that was a lie?
~~~~~~
Rain hadn't told her... but the shadows were real...
"Rain," Rivynn said, gently shaking her brother's shoulder. "Wake up."
She frowned noticing he was unusually warm to the touch.
"Rain!" she said again but louder, worried now. He was always awake before her.
He groaned, then started awake. "What... " But his alarm was replaced by relief as his eyes met hers.
"Did you have a bad dream?" she asked, her voice full of concern.
For a moment he glanced fearfully past her at the forest, then relaxed some.
"Yeah," he said quickly.
Recalling how he always comforted her when she had bad dreams, she wrapped her arms around him. "It's ok now. It was just a dream."
The sound of someone approaching drew their attention and they glanced excitedly at each other. They knew those uneven footfalls.
"Ruben!" Rivynn cried excitedly as she ran outside to meet him, Rain trailing right behind her, their chains rattling with their movement.
"How are my two most favorite little people in the whole wide world this morning?" the brown-haired young man greeted as they pounced him.
"Why were you gone so long this time?" Rivynn pouted right away.
"I'm sorry, little flower, but I was sick again," he apologized. "But to make it up to you, I brought an extra special surprise."
Immediately intrigued she peered at him eagerly. "What is it?"
He glanced at Rain who was unusually quiet. "It's for you too," he added.
Kneeling, he reached into one of the baskets and pulled out a small, dusty-white kitten.
Rivynn gulped as Ruben placed it gently in her arms.
"I found it in the barn the other day," he smiled.
Tears welled up in her eyes as the little thing peered up at her and mewed pathetically. "It's so cute..." she started sobbing.
She turned to her brother. "Just look at it..." she blubbered.
He smiled weakly and slowly reached out to stroke its downy soft fur.
"Well, what are you going to call it?" Ruben coaxed.
"We get to name it?" she asked in awe.
He nodded.
She turned to her brother expectantly.
"It's fluffy and mostly white, like a cloud..." he pondered.
"Cloud!" she exclaimed excitedly before he could finish. "You're name is Cloud!"
"I was going to say Stormy," Rain objected.
"Stormy? That sounds grumpy..."
"No it's not!"
Ruben chuckled at their bickering. "You don't have to decide today. Take your time until you agree on a name for the little fellow," he soothed. "How about we have breakfast together and you tell me all about what you've been up to?" he offered and started to dish out.
"I'm not hungry," Rain said, refusing the bowl of porridge the monk passed him.
"Oh? Why not?"
"I'm just not hungry..."
"He had a bad dream. That's why," Rivynn piped up as she eagerly downed her portion, sharing some from each spoonful with the kitten.
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Ruben frowned sympathetically, "Want to talk about it?"
Her brother shook his head and pulled his knees up under his chin.
"I gave him a hug to make it better," she added but didn't understand why he was still bothered.
"It's ok," Ruben assured him. "Dreams are just dreams. They can't hurt anyone."
"Even dreams about shadows?" Rain asked, his voice barely a whisper.
The question seemed to suddenly concern the monk, and he placed a hand on the youngster's forehead.
"I'll be right back," he said quickly, getting up.
Confused, Rivynn watched him hobble away, then turned to her brother and put a hand to his forehead like Ruben had.
