A Tall and Small Collection | Soren

Next Steps

The evening of watch was incredibly uneventful, as Soren expected, but far from quiet. He was left alone with his thoughts and the silent images of the events that transpired. They played in his mind over and over again, unrelenting. If Soren didn't know better, he'd say he was in a horrible nightmare unable to wake and save himself in the waking world.

He kept seeing Dorian on the ground, collapsing out of fear and exhaustion. It must've taken every ounce of his will to walk out of the walls on his own in hopes of finding his older brother.

The silent image of Rey holding so still on the glue trap, saved from suffocation by pure luck and circumstance. If the older human had decided to smash the trap... Or if Rey had twisted more one way or the other... Soren shuddered and clasped his brothers' shoulders in his hands. Both of them stirred simultaneously and pressed their faces into his shoulders.

Soren hated to think of how scared they must've been – how scared they still were. In their minds, they were still in danger being so near a human. It was only because they were exhausted and drained emotionally that they were able to sleep right now.

There was one other prominent thought, one question, in his mind – one that set his anger and frustration into a boil. Where was Brady?

Brady had left Soren those two weeks ago and had taken up the responsibility of taking care of Dorian and Rey. Brady had practically sacrificed Soren to the human for his own safety and the safety of his sons. If the human wasn't Ashlynn, Soren didn't think he would be alive; so, everything worked out for the best. Still, Brady couldn't have known that.

More importantly were the conditions of Dorian and Rey. Last time he had seen them, they were a little thin but healthy. It was the Borrower way of life, needing to survive and eat light. Now, Dorian and Rey both were thinner than Soren remembered. Their bodies felt bonier and frail in his grasp.

There were supplies left if they were rationed properly. There were more than enough places to borrow from. A single, chilling thought crept into his mind.

Had Brady abandoned them too?

Surely not; but how else would Dorian and Rey be left alone? How would they feel so thin? Would they have been foolish enough to go borrowing on their own again after what happened the first time? If they were desperate enough, they would do what they needed to do to survive. Soren had taught them that much at least.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the night passed and, early in the morning when the first light peeked through the uncovered edges of the windows and the blackout curtains, Soren heard Ashlynn stir. Within minutes, he watched as she stretched and let out a sigh and moan. She rolled over, blue-grey eyes flickering open.

The moment she glanced at him, Ashlynn could see there were faint dark circles under his eyes. The events of the evening before left her mind torn in dreams and, even when she slept, it wasn't as restful as she wanted. She could only imagine how Soren was feeling at that moment. She suspected, after knowing him for this short amount of time, that he had stayed up or, at the very least, he didn't sleep well.

Their eyes met; and, for the first time, there was no fear in meeting and maintaining the others' gaze. She raised her hand slightly and waved, receiving a weary smile from her small companion.

Ashlynn glanced over a little more and could see two heads of tussled hair at his sides. [They were probably scared to be here.] Ashlynn thought as she watched Soren rub their shoulders from over the covers. Ashlynn suspected Soren was very kind and thoughtful, but had only seen the rougher and self-preservative side of him.