Larksong Grotto if i help somebody, maybe there's mercy for me

indra hadn't had a chance to tell @Laurel yet -- she half felt shame, half felt hope. would laurel think less of her? would she think her stupid? crazy?

indra didn't know. she only knew what she felt, and that was loneliness and fear. part of her knew that what she had seen in the copse was not real, but why did it look so real? why did the fear feel so real?

"@Laurel." indra called, crawling over the large rock that bordered the den. her tail beat pitifully on the stone and she looked for her tawny sister with both bat-like ears suspended to the side of her head with slight anticipation.

Laurel had not been snoozing in the den that day; as a matter of fact, she was playing nearby when she heard her sister's voice. She didn't recognise anything from the voice, just knew it was Indra and assumed it to be nothing important. Seeing opportunity to pounce, Laurel crept up behind her sister, watching her from the edge of the clearing.

Then she pounced with an excited scream of "Raaaah!" intending to pounce on Indra and pin her to the ground, after which she would naturally let her sister go again.

indra did not know laurel was behind her -- and perhaps too trustingly of her environment, had not suspected a sneak attack.

so when laurel erupted from the bushes with a 'raaaghrr' indra nearly melted into a puddle of fear and urination - she squealed and plastered herself into the rock with her ears pulled flat against her skull as she felt the apparition pin her. she shut her eyes -- it was the bear! coming back for her!

but nothing happened; slowly she opened her eyes, only to feel a flush of humilation as laurel peered back at her. "you scared me!" she accused shortly, being in no mood to play.

Laurel hit het target, but she didn't find what she expected; no playful Indra who'd rawr and fight back at her. Just clenched muscles and fearful huddling, which left Laurel unpinning her sister quickly and looking at her with quizzical expression. "I was just playing," she explained matter-of-factly at Indra's accusation, speaking equally accusatory. Playing was a totally normal thing, and she didn't get why Indra was so freaked out about it.

But it was Indra, so there was probably a good reason. "What's wrong, In?" Laurel asked, head tilted and ears poking forth questioningly.

as laurel pulled away, catching wind of indra's stiffness, indra watched her sullenly. what was wrong? "everything!" she said tearfully, not even attempting to hold back the gusto of her despair. her exclamation hit the air forcefully and loudly, and even she was taken aback for a moment by the power in which the admittance had wrenched from her body.

"i saw something in the woods and it chased me, and i can't sleep and i miss home and i'm hungry and i'm bored and NO ONE PLAYS WITH ME EVER!" she howled, feeling more sorry for herself now than ever. in the scheme of things perhaps these troubles were nothing but small demons; yet indra had never been told how to prepare for these struggles, and felt overwhelmed by their existence.

It didn't take long for the flood of words to come, surprising not just Indra, but Laurel too. She'd never seen her sister so loud like this; usually, she would be soft spoken and thoughtful around every corner. For her to act out like this probably held a good reason. Laurel felt for some of the reasons; she missed Silver Creek too, and she often thought of going home. But she couldn't make it there alone. Maybe some day when they were a bit bigger they could go home together to let everyone know they were okay. The only one that Laurel needed in the world was Indra to feel complete; all the others were just decoration, icing on the cake.

"Who chased you?" asked Laurel, wanting to figure out if it was a real person or if it was just Indra's imagination that made her think someone was chasing her. Yet it didn't really matter, she realised, as she nosed Indra's cheek and said, "I'll play with you, always."

indra's outburst had taken laurel aback too, and with a snivel indra wiped her cheek clumsily, feeling the matted fur and dampness of her tears. she felt guilty almost instantly, for she saw concern and worry writ clear across laurel's features.

laurel's question was met with a furrowed brow and indra looked to the ground in shame. "it was a thing." she started feebly, not even sure how to describe it. "big and white and furry and i was fine, i was, until it looked at me." indra felt a shudder descend down her spine rapidly - she would not ever forget the bear's gaze. "it scared me" she finished lamely.

Laurel didn't know what kind of thing it was that had scared Indra, because she had never seen anything like what she described before. She wasn't really sure what to say about it. "It's good that you ran away," Laurel said with a smile and she nosed Indra's cheek. "Cause this place would suck even more without my sister."

laurel's light humor was enough to lift indra from her somber mood, and she giggled as the coldness of her sister's nose brushed across her cheeked. "it would suck without you too!" she rejoined, batting in her sister's direction with a gentle wave of her paw.  larksong was okay, or at least indra thought so -- though at times she found herself driven to boredom with all the unfun adults around. reek was always there to humor her, and laurel too, but indra had her reservations about the others. "'sides, you're the only one that doesn't suck at playing. she said matter-of-factly -- she couldn't imagine jhala or pharos taking kindly to any playing endeavors.

Laurel's tail wagged at her sister's admission, even if it was stuff she already knew. It still felt good to be appreciated. "I love you, In!" Laurel shared as she gently bumped her nose against Indra's cheek. Everyone in the world had abandoned them or cheated them at some point or another... But Indra was always there, and Laurel would likewise always be there for her sis', too, no matter the crap life threw at them.

"Yah, no one knows how to play, they're all so adult and boring," Laurel sighed. "Let's never become like that when we're grown ups." She looked at Indra as though waiting for her sister to repeat the pledge, to make it official that they'd never become stuffy old boring adults.

indra rolled onto her back, her grin flipped upside down and gums absurdly flopping. "never!" she repeated, her eyes wide by both gravity and honesty. she had no intention of ever being like anyone else - they were boring.. and sometimes, frustrating. indra had very little luck making any friends in the grotto, and as far as she was concerned, laurel was her closest confidant. her ally.

she flipped onto her side and rested on her ribcage, thinking. "do you think they would notice if we left?" she asked quietly, hopefully. she was almost too afraid to voice such a query, but it was laurel - her friend. her world in its entire, and the only soul she could trust.

Being with Indra was the most joy that Laurel got. She didn't really like anyone else, though Reek was okay when he took the time to play with them. But Indra, In — she was everything to Laurel. At her sister's query, the smile fell off her face, replaced with something that resembled thoughtfulness. Could they? Should they?

"D'you think somewhere else is better?" she asked Indra. Silver Creek was okay, but they didn't give them any choices and responsibilities; Larksong Grotto was boring, but at least Reek treated them like princesses who got everything they wanted... Would there really be a place out there that was better than either of those options? Laurel liked to think there was, but what did In think?

did she really think somewhere else was better? indra considered the inquiry, her brow knitted in a deep furrow. she didn't know. laurel didn't know. but she knew how she felt here - she felt lonely and abandoned and the resentment that had at first been a little candle-light flame was now a roaring fire. there was jhala and her puppies and they had taken their father from them. just like their father had taken them from saena.

indra settled into the ground with a sad mumble: "anywhere else is better." she spoke into her paws. she had no idea how lucky she was -- how lucky both of them were. as far as she was concerned, she didn't like the grotto anymore.

Laurel looked thoughtful at that, as if she was considering it. It wasn't often that she considered things for such a long time. She decided; "If you are gonna leave, I'm gonna leave too." And maybe Reek would realise how stupid he was being if his daughters would go away for a while and he might find them and be happier with them than Jhala and her pups.

"Jhala shouldn't even be allowed to have pups. She'll never be our mom and the puppies in her belly will never be our sisters or brothers." Laurel thought aloud; "Reek should appreciate us more and get rid of Jhala like he promised." Maybe she'd give it a bit more time to see if he would do this. But then again, would he really? He'd promised once before and he'd been given an ultimatum and didn't seem eager so far to stick to it.

But it was clear from her voice she didn't give it much chance, even if it was clear what Reek should do. Laurel sighed and collapsed in a heap next to her sister. She started to nibble on Indra's fur, cleaning her in a loving way that was reserved only for her sister while the rest of the world got to see only her mean face. She muttered, "We'll show him how special we are..." Though it was clear that she didn't really believe her own words.

indra's gaze traveled to laurel's features adoringly; laurel could have taken centuries to weigh their options, and it would have made no difference. indra still would have waited, silent -- the rounded discs of her amber gaze rimmed in adoration for her sibling. she would go too, wherever laurel did; indra knew her sister was her other half, her second limb; the rock in which she rested and relied upon.

she nodded firmly at her sister's words - she had never had a bad interaction with jhala, but jhala's proximity to reek caused a slow poisoning in indra. enough that eventually, in barely perceptible measures, indra would find herself entirely opposed to jhala's existence.

and all because she competed with them for reek's attention and love; and as far as indra was concerned, was winning.

"we could leave for a while and see if they even miss us." she suggested quietly, her expression sour. "i bet they wouldn't even know."

Laurel liked to believe that they were very special to their father and that he would miss them really quickly. They were princesses, after all, and Jhala wasn't supposed to change anything. But she had noticed that he would slip off to take care of Jhala more and more often, too. It was like she was more important than spending time with his baby girls, his princesses, when they were supposed to be everything to him.

"Yeah, maybe," Laurel said with a frown on her face. Yet she went for the reality she'd rather believe: "I bet he'd miss us and wished he could spend time with us then, but it'd be too late." He might not realise what he had now, but they would make him see. Laurel nosed Indra's cheek and said, "I'm happy I still got you, In. We can be princesses together, and we'll be together forever no matter what all the other stupids do. Promise." Maybe they'd run away some day soon, Laurel thought. Where would they go? The thought was taunting and exciting, and she might've gone for the plan right away... but they needed to be rested first, so first they should eat, drink and sleep — and maybe then they'd reconsider and stall for another time.