A Tall and Small Collection | Soren

Beyond the Cover of the Wall

Soren woke a few hours later from a dreamless slumber. His eyes, slightly hazy, focused with more clarity with each blink. His brothers were still sound asleep, breathing peacefully in their beds. Soren rolled over onto his back and stretched. He could feel every muscle in his body constrict and release as he arched his back and pulled his arms down from over his head. He sat up and glanced around. No sign of Brady. [Typical.]

Soren stood and grasped his brothers' shoulders, giving them a gentle shake awake. "Hey bobbins. Time to get up," he said gently. Rey and Dorian both moaned and tried rolling over further into the covers, but Soren had seen this before and it wasn't going to work.

Doing the only thing he knew how to do, he walked to the side of the bed and deliberately, but gently, fell forward onto his brothers. He caught himself with his arms before completely smothering them. They cried out in surprise, which was followed immediately by reluctant moans and smiles.

"No Soren!" Rey muttered sleepily. "Just a little longer." Soren grabbed the top of the blankets and rolled, pulling them off of his brothers while simultaneously rolling himself in the blanket.

"Nooooo!" Dorian curled in tighter to himself, laughing at the sight of his brother rolled up in the blanket. "It's cold!" Soren untangled himself from the blankets and tugged at his brothers' ankles.

"None of that. We've got important work to do, remember? We'll stretch and get going. You want to still want to go borrowing tonight, don't you?" Soren's request was met with a charged silence. It was obvious they wanted to go while also maintaining the warmth of their beds. They yielded and sat up, stretching as big as they could before putting on their shoes and stretching. Soren guided them through each stretch until he was satisfied they were limber enough for their trip. They grabbed their borrowing bags and headed off into the walls, but not before Soren took the two mice pelts and wrapped his brothers in them.

Going out was dangerous and being seen was even more so. It was a precaution to ensure the secrecy of the borrowers. If they were spotted, which was entirely unlikely, hopefully the human would simply think they had mice. Soren reminded himself he needed to teach them about mousetraps and how to get around them.

Soren nodded reassuringly before leading the way into the labyrinth of walls before them. Rey smiled nervously back while Dorian beamed with determination. Soren couldn't help but, in this moment, remember his first time outside the walls with his father.

A stiff silence followed them as Soren guided them through the walls. There was an anticipation and nervousness clinging to them which every step intensified. Soren felt a hollowness pumping in the center of his heart as if to remind him that his brothers were relying on him and him alone to succeed.

Soren shook his thoughts from his head. He couldn't think about Brady's failures or the long-term goals. He had to think about the here and now. He squeezed through the boards, making sure his brothers were right behind him, before making the final trek around the wall to the electrical cover.

Soren stood at the wall's edge, the beams of light illuminating his hazel eyes. He took in a deep breath to calm his nerves as he summoned the words, the same words, his father spoke to him before his first borrowing trip. He turned toward his brothers and knelt, beckoning them forward to his side. He grasped their arms and looked them in the eyes.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Dorian and Rey nodded, albeit stiffly. "It's okay to be nervous and scared. Remember?"

"Rely on our instincts. Turn nerves into strength," replied Dorian. Soren nodded before gripping his brothers' arms just a little tighter.

"There's something else," he said. "I need you two to promise me something no matter what." Slightly alarmed, his brothers nodded.

"The apartment should be empty. I've had my eyes on this place for a while and I checked it out earlier. Everything should go smoothly. Still, anything can happen. The human may come back early. They may still be in the apartment. Any number of things. When we're out there, I need you to listen to everything I tell you to do without question."