Stone Circle time doesn’t care about anyone or anything, oh

days in kvarsheim passed like grains of sand through an hourglass. the past and future felt endless, while this moment felt like it was always narrowly slipping past. it made her anxious. she had taken on the role of provider, and now there were adults to do it for them. she didn't know what to do with herself if she wasn't fussing over her girls. fox and petal both had their stashes, but what had dahlia ever loved aside from them?

she spent the afternoon in leynille, pondering the slow-moving creek. what was there to do now but wait?

They had said that their mother had been a sister here. Yet Petal could find no traces of her here. No songs, no dance. There was a startling lack of gold that she had grown accustomed to. The land was colder here, the sun felt as though it could not reach them so easily.

The only places she could find her mother was in her sisters. Even then it was not her, it was…them. It was the girls they had become in absence.

Maybe that was why her mind had subconsciously led her to the trail of one of her siblings. Seeking something familiar to hold onto in the wake of another upheaval.

Are you happy? Her voice a whisper that said it can be our secret.

it was a question she hadn't expected from her quietest sister. her voice was as soft as the autumn leaves that rustled overhead, but dahlia was attuned to her wavelength by now. her ears swiveled first, followed by her face, as she looked up at petal.

i... she let her eyes fall again and contemplated into the water.

the last time she had been happy was when she was the sole object of her mother's love, dancing side by side in the gilded valley. all that had come to pass in the following months made it feel like a lifetime ago. it might as well have been. just shy of eight months old, almost half of her life was eclipsed by her mother's absence in one way or another. even before she had given her mind to the fire, she had been looking for fox — not once, but twice. and although dahlia had been wounded by it she would never hold it against her sisters.

i'm not unhappy she says, i think i'll feel better once we've settled here for a bit. do you like it here, petal?

i'm not unhappy.

then it will be their secret, she decided. yet the talk of settling and the question was enough for her face to fall slightly. she is not trying to hide it but she is — struggling.

she tried not to think about how it had felt like survival was easy when their mother had been there but not able. they had made it work with just the three of them. yet she feels completely sapped when placed somewhere that can meet every need. she feels tired all the time, she feels misplaced, she feels adrift from everyone but her sisters.

not that she had made much of a direct effort to connect so far but... i think it's like you said. i'll feel better once we settle in.

she tries for a smile but it dies as quick as it was born.

in the meantime, i get to learn more plants... something to hold onto. i even got to see a fox recently.

she knew that they were all feeling this way, but to have it confirmed cast an arrow through her chest. it felt like she had personally failed them, when in reality they were all just trying their best. 

dahlia’s demeanor changed as petal spoke. she had learned from her mother how to settle her worries in private, to only let the tears fall when she thought no one could bear witness. dahlia folded her feelings into the smallest paper crane and sat them on the highest shelf, sat alongside a thousand others where they could observe from afar but never interfere. 

her face flipped like a light had just been turned on. she offered an eager smile as she said, there are so many more plants here than we had in the desert, standing now, she kissed her sister’s cheek. you will have much to learn, and all the world sprawled out before you will be yours and yours alone. petal, you have eyes like no other. it’s a gift.

perfect dahlia with her perfect ribbons and bows. she did not resent the surface level image she always saw. no, she treasured it. adored it. petal was undone by the softness of this perfect sister, her own ribbon around her heart suddenly pulled free.

she was crying now. not out of sadness — and she wondered if it should be — but out of the kindness given to her. again and again and again.

petal, you have eyes like no other. it’s a gift.

but the eyes were wet with tears like they might water all the plants she collected. as if all the dancing they had ever done was not for the skies to weep but her.

all the world. hers and hers alone. but who gave it to her? dahlia.

she had sunk down now, belly low against the earth that was between her sister's paws. flattened and her own paws draped over her eyes. i'm okay — she breathed out softly between the tears. i'm okay.

there’s something snakelike and wrong with her, but she can’t identify it. the chameleon’s ability to compartmentalize and change so suddenly. petal takes it as a gift, and that she’s thankful for. 

the deluge that wet the earth did not deter dahlia; it was better this way. she tried to assure dahlia that she was okay, but sweet petal would know that it’s okay to cry. 

rain brings flowers, she says softly, lowering herself to the fallen leaves to sit beside her sister. sometimes, you just have to let it out. dahlia knew that all too well.

if you dont mind short thread, this could be fade. also very open to continuing. up to you

had she cried like this before? she couldn't remember. why couldn't she remember? it doesn't matter.

all that matters is...this. herself. the relief and the sudden sapped energy. it felt good. it felt as thought her body finally felt the exhaustion that had run rampant through her young life.

she is slipping into a half-asleep state of ragged breaths before she knows it. protected by dahlia. healed by dahlia. fixed by dahlia. something was bound to give sooner or later.

was that what this was? or had this only been the start of something?

i will go ahead and archive. ❤️ thank you for this!

she held her sister as she cried, until her ragged breaths drew deep and clear. it’s a relief, to know she had done something right by them. she waited until petal had fallen asleep before she let herself succumb to it, too. rest would do them both well.