bones and blades

the battlefield is your mind; my weapon is my soul

When she burst through the door, she noticed a note lying at her seat. She picked it up quickly while her little brother attempted to read over her shoulder.

“Hello, dear! I have to leave to treat a patient, she is awfully sick. Luckily, she’s nearby! I will be back to make dinner soon. If you get hungry, there are snacks on the counter. And make sure your little brother does his homework! -Mom”

Zeroro smiled in relief and set the note back down. It was normal for her mother to leave like this, with her medical profession and all. Her father was a medic as well, who actually served in the army as one rather than being a soldier. She figured maybe one day she might pick up the profession if she were to be drafted.

“Siiiiiis! I don’t wanna do my homework!” her little brother yelled, interrupting her train of thought. 

She sighed and sat down next to him. “You have to do it, Neroro. I can h-help you, if you’d like.”

“Fiiiiine…” he groaned, beginning to take his homework out.

The door eventually opened and Zeroro’s mother walked in politely, holding a soaking black umbrella by her side.

“The operation failed…we lost a patient tonight. Its still sad, even after seeing it happen many times…”

Zeroro kicked her feet under the table nervously. Something about that tone of voice made her feel uneasy.

“Kids, will you gather here for a bit? …I need to talk to someone about today’s operation.”

Neroro scoffed and walked over. “Your stories are always so boring, this better be juicy!”

Zeroro followed after him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Mama doesn’t look too g-good, maybe you shouldn’t joke at a time like this…”

“…I knew our patient tonight. In fact, I knew her children, and I knew her husband. We had fought together back when we were nearly wiped out by the Vipers…oh dear. She was such a strong lady, being able to send her only son off to war after surviving them firsthand. A-and her husband, he was devastated…we tried to contain him, we r-really did! He ran off, though, with his son and daughter…we heard screaming off in the distance but we couldn’t do anything.”

“The patient had been sick for a while…her kids would always visit her during the school hours. Her daughter adored her, and I constantly found letters from her on her nightstand. She even had pinned some to the wall when she could still walk. Her son rarely visited, though. He was in military training at the time. That poor girl…all she had to keep her company was her father, who was often brought in to have his stomach pumped because of alcohol usage. She seemed so lonely, yet brave. The only time she wasn’t there for her was the moment of her death.”

Zeroro and Neroro sat in silence. Their mother turned away shortly to grieve, and then tried her best not to cry in front of her children.

“She was…so brave. I hope for her fighting spirit to live on within her son…or even her daughter…”