Things That Go 'Bump' In The Night

Chade does as instructed and Ricin is glad that he does have to argue with his brother, for once. Their bond is strong and born from distrust of the world around them. So far, it has allowed them to stay alive but Ricin always worries about putting his brother in danger.  Usually, the only time Ricin can stray far from his brother’s side is when Chade is asleep. Even then, it is not for long and he stays close enough to protect the sleeping sibling. The lighter sibling swiftly slipped into the cave quickly to explore.

When Ricin determines that the cave is safe, he sticks his head out from the enterance and is greeted with face full of obsidian sand. The grit gets into his nostrils and Ricin sneezes loudly to clear the offending debris. Chade’s sheepish glance and explanation has Ricin shaking his head with a smile on his lips. “Very smart Ny.” The praise is well deserved and Ricin quickly shares what he had found before moving to allow Chade entry.

Ricin knows his brother is smart and does not need reminding about eating strange things but he does it. After they had watched their brother slowly succumb to something bad he had eaten, Ricin had felt the need to keep Chade from the same fate. It had been a horrible end to a short life and Ricin cannot stop the memories that raise to the surface as he watches Chade.

It had been horrible for Ricin and Chade as they watched their strong brother clutch his stomach and vomit endlessly. The pain written plainly on his feature as he heaved and trembled, begging his siblings to kill him. They were puppies and had no idea what to do to help. In the end they had all offered their brother their body heat, curling around him and trying to comfort the hurting pup. Somehow, they managed to sleep and, when the light broke across the horizon, they had found the brother dead with bloody vomit matted into his fur.

Chade’s voice pulls the lighter colored sibling from his thoughts and Ricin listens to him before saying, “Okay Ny. You were always better with finding hidden stuff. Why don’t you check over there?” Ricin points a paw toward the back of the cave by the small pool where the food seems most plentiful before gesturing toward the right side of cave and adding, “I will search over here. Maybe I can find something out about what these glowing things are while I look.” Ricin’s eyes are bright with curiosity as he moves toward the area.

Hunger forgotten, Ricin’s eyes search the floor as his nose sniffs at the air, testing for unknown scents that might be lingering. After a few minutes of searching, Ricin calls out softly, “Nothing over here. Got anything Ny?”


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