Mated to Morpheus

o.MTM.5

a burning for the sun

"Mother," she mumbled through cracked lips, pressed against her praying hands. "On behalf of all your forsaken children, please provide us with enough sustenance to survive the warm season. We have grown, much to your dismay, and our ration has failed to feed us without your intervention. We ask not for power nor dignity, but merely for the concern and compassion that we have greatly missed from our dear mother. There is very little left of us, and we each fear that we will not last much longer by ourselves. Forgive me, Mother, but I speak for both my brothers and my sister when I say that we yearn to see you, to hear you, to feel you!"

The seemingly young girl was far too concentrated on her prayer to sense the danger lingering behind her, that is, until she suddenly flew forward with a force so unlike her own. A secure hand gripped what was left of her flimsy hair, twirled it around their fist, and slammed the girl's face into the ground. The girl's fingers cracked uncomfortably as they unlocked from their resting position and attempted to guard her gaunt appearance, but they failed at shielding her face as her chin still crashed into the wooden flooring with a harsh thud.

"Oh, Kovina!" She shrieked at her attacker. "Have mercy on me, Sister!"

"Shush! Be quiet, Avyanna! Shush! Shush!" Before untangling the loose, splintering hair from her fingers, Kovina pulled Avyanna from off the floor and demanded that she cease her painful cries of devotion. "Do not pester Mother with your weeping! She will not listen to you! She will not listen to any of us!"

"Oh, but I must try!" Avyanna wrapped herself around her elder sister's legs, cradling the slender limbs into her small body. "Please, Kovina! Understand me! I feel nothing anymore except hunger! Wild, unruly hunger!"

Kovina gripped Avyanna's chin—using her thumb to trace over the fresh scar and kiss her wound with subtle care. "We will not perish from hunger. You have to look at me and listen well, little one. There is not much that I have in this world, but I can assure you that I will not let you, nor our brothers, succumb to such a torturous death."

"Yes!" Avyanna's lips curled into a smile as she peered up at her sister with affection and admiration. "You can catch Mother's attention!"

Kovina felt tempted by the seed of anger that had planted itself into her heart, but she ignored it at the pitiful sight in front of her. She watched Avyanna with a forged grin and moved to pat her desolate head, lingering for only a moment. Kovina did not leave her sister's side until Avyanna clasped her hands back together and crawled into the praying position that consumed much of her wasted time.

Kovina looked away from the troublesome scene. There was now a thin layer of determination that coated much of her sore fingertips—despite them being smeared in her young sister's desperation. Around the withered edges were gnawed and exposed skin, which had long been smothered in her own disappointment. This time, however, was an exception. There was something different attached to them now, something almost rejuvenating about them. Although the persistent varnish was rapidly melting away, disappearing with each bated breath that she took—such unease assured her that she was not inept at emotion. Especially human emotion.

Nonetheless, Kovina quickly left that room. And, without a single glance back. It had forcibly held what was left of her cherished sister—after trapping her and imprisoning her there for what felt like centuries. She reached forward to the entrance of their home, or rather, their cage. There was a slight pause to her hesitant approach, but she urged herself to proceed while cursing at her unease. Through a chasmic breath in, with enough power to ignite a sharp hiss to form against her evenly pointed teeth, she grabbed the jittery knob that haunted her and her siblings. Kovina felt it tense underneath her cold, calculated touch. Euphoria raced up her spine.