Unpromised Home

a glass of panic for your morning

'in which you sleep in a tree and eat some shitty breakfast'

Fumbling around in the dark is definitely not your favourite pastime. Hardly makes the list at all if you were to be totally honest... Not that you really have a list of favourite pastimes. Running was enjoyable, as was reading but it's not like you've had much time for that and recent months. You also were fond of climbing, something you were doing a surprising amount in the past two days.

You let out a sigh as you sit on the bough of the tree, pressing your back against the bark. Maybe you should have spent the night at Vivian's house. Certainly would have been more comfortable than balancing several feet off the ground. 

You were back in the area that she first found you in. You hope at least. The sun had already come close to setting by the time you actually left, leaving you plunged in the dark after only a few minutes of walking.

It's been several hours already since you came back to consciousness with a headache that probably should have split your skull open with its unrelenting pounding, and you have no clue what to do next. What should a person do if they suddenly wake up in the past? Is there some sort of contingency plan you should be following? Not that you know the steps of the plan if there even was one that existed. 

You pat your pocket for what could have been the hundredth time that evening looking for your phone. To your complete and utter lack of surprise, it still isn't there. You sigh again, resting your head backwards. Really, what should you be doing right now? You're alone, without food and water, and no knowledge on how you got to the past or how you expect to get back to the future. 

You glance your eyes upwards. Through the canopy of leaves above you you catch glimpses of the stars. Twinkling so brightly against the dark expanses that their light shines through the leaves. You rub your eye, wiping crusts from the corners. You reach for your phone again, slapping yourself mentally for your redundant action. Closing your eyes you slouch against the bark, slowly falling asleep as you shift uncomfortably on the hard surface.

.

Sleep was about as comfortable as one would have expected. The experience of sleeping in a tree is one you plan to never have again, mostly due in part to you waking up with a sharp pain in your side and a second mouthful of dirt in as many days.

Rubbing your side you stagger to your feet. Leaning against the tree for support as your head slows it's spinning. Really, with how your time has been going, you should have expected to fall out of a tree. You yawn, sliding down the trunk of the tree. 

It was still dark out. The sun was beginning to rise, but it still remained a shadowed remnant of its normal daytime glory. Rubbing your head you pull a dead leaf from your hair. A groan escapes you as the bits of the leaf drift down to the ground. 

"Ah! [Name]! Thank goodness I found you!"

"Vi? What are you...?"

"No time to explain." She harshly grabs your arm, forcing you to your feet with a stumble. Another pull to your arm beckons you forward. You follow Vivian down the increasingly familiar path in silence, still mostly regaining consciousness from your abrupt awakening just a few minutes ago.

"So uh... What's going on this early in the morning?" She huffs with great annoyance, clearly not eager about the early morning either. 

"My idiot of a brother got into a fight." 

"Your brother? As in the obviously adult man who was sitting at your kitchen table yesterday, got into a fight."

"Yes." She sighs loudly, "Yes that's him."