A Tall and Small Collection | Soren

A Brother's First Glimpse

Soren rested for nearly ten minutes before electing to get up and begin transporting the fabric scraps back to his family. He started with one of the heavier pieces, a soft, thick maroon fabric, and began the trek back. He rolled it up and placed it on his back. The path had become more familiar with time, but Soren knew he had to keep his head up if he didn't want to get lost. After all, he hadn't implemented Rey's plan yet.

While he walked, Soren had a moment to think. If he remembered correctly, Brady had said he was going to make sure the cat couldn't roam the halls; yet, Soren didn't remember seeing him on his way to the apartment. This was a bad sign. Brady should have been either near the entrance Soren created or somewhere along the hallway.

Soren shook his thoughts from his head. Brady wasn't brave enough to go out into the room on his own without backup. If Brady had gone out, he would have left the cover off or some other blunder obvious for even a human to notice.

"Soren!" The sudden, jubilant cry of his youngest brother, Rey, was enough to send his heart into a rapid shock which just as quickly dissipated. He could see his brothers' round, smiling faces peering out from around the final corner. Soren had set very specific rules to make sure his brothers didn't wander off. One of those rules were boundaries as to how far his brothers could actually travel from their cots; and they were almost at the edge.

Soren smiled but stared at them warningly. They knew better than to go beyond where they were told unless it was an emergency.

"Hey bobbins," he said thoughtfully. "Look what I borrowed." Soren tugged at the fabric on his back. Their eyes widened in wonder as they stood at the edge of the wall bouncing back and forth on their toes, eager to see what their brother had brought home.

"Ohhh! Wow brother! You're the best! It's so soft," said Dorian in awe as he reached out and touched the fabric, squishing it between his fingers.

"Yeah!" Rey agreed while mimicking his brother's movements.

"Okay, okay. Let's bring it over to the pile," Soren instructed. The youngest eagerly obeyed and took an armful of fabric, not caring part of it dragged the ground, and carried it to their supply pile. The middle child did the same. After they successfully carried the maroon cloth to their supply pile, Soren pointed back down the corridor.

"Hey, you two didn't see Bra...er... your dad, did you?" asked Soren. The youngest two exchanged quick glances with one another before shaking their heads.

"No, he left this morning and said he was going to stand guard," replied Dorian. "Why?" Soren, in a split second, made the decision to not worry them, but also to tell the truth.

"No reason," muttered Soren. "I didn't see him in the corridor and thought he might've gone back. He's probably just further down and I didn't see him." A flicker of worry sparked in the boys' eyes, but they trusted Soren and his instincts.

"Anyway," continued Soren. "I need to get back. There's more cloth than what I brought back and some special thread for navigation." Rey's eyes twinkled.

"You mean you're going to use my idea?" he asked eagerly.

"Sure thing bobbin," replied Soren. "Hey, do you two want to come with me and help bring back some borrowings?" The brothers' leaped into the air cheering. They had never been borrowing before and this would be the first time, even if it was just gathering supplies with their brother.

Before they left their camp, Soren made them promise to listen to every command he gave regardless of how they felt and to be especially careful near the entrances. His brothers only had glimpses of the human world and possessed little knowledge about how to actually borrow – something Soren was slightly ashamed of. He knew he was young at the time, but Soren's father, Aaron, and his mother, Emma Lee, had taken Soren out borrowing for the first time when he was Rey's age. It was a risk, but Soren was glad he had the knowledge to protect himself and provide for his brothers.