Raife

2. Worst Night Ever

After dinner and cake, everyone retired to their rooms for the night. Raife switched out to an over-sized sleeveless t-shirt and thin pajama pants. Her sister also slipped into pajama pants, but put on a smaller crop top. As Raife was getting ready to hop into bed, she looked out her window and saw hundreds of little balls of light. She gasped and quickly bolted to her sister's room. Shale practically tripped getting into bed when her little sister burst through her door.

"Fireflies!" Raife exclaimed. "Come on, let's go!" She then zipped out of her sister's room and flew down the stairs.

"Wait- shit," Shale muttered as she tripped, trying to catch up. "Goddammit, Raife." She quickly got to her feet and ran after her sister.

By the time she got outside, she saw Raife off to the left trying to jump and catch her prey. With a huff of annoyance, Shale took off after her. As she begun her approach, she started to think of all the ways she'd punish her sister for dragging her outside like this. Perhaps she'd tickle her until she couldn't breathe. Or give her raspberries until her belly turned red. Before she could think of anything else, Raife seemed to slip and tumble down a hill.

Shale gasped and slid to a stop, looking down the somewhat steep slope. Her sister rested on her butt, holding her knee. Shale quickly slid down carefully and dropped to her knees next to her careless sibling. "Are you okay?"

"Just a scrape. I'm fine."

"Dammit, Raife," Shale sighed. "You're lucky it wasn't a longer drop."

"There's no cliffs around here."

"Still. You could've broken an ankle. And then mom would kill me. Now, come on. You've had your fun. Back to bed."

Raife frowned and looked up as the fireflies scattered. "Fine."

She got to her feet and stood up, brushing dirt off her knees and legs before the two started to climb back up. When they were able to peek over the top, Shale put a hand on her sister's shoulder to stop her. There was a horse-drawn covered wagon parked outside their home, a male wolf standing guard as he sharpened his nails with his dagger. As the sisters watched, a familiar wolf stepped out the front door, holding a bloody machete.

"Bag the heads and the bodies," Drago ordered.

"What about the kids?" The other wolf asked, putting his dagger in its small sheath before he went to the back of the wagon.

"Job was the parents," Drago said. "But if you'd like to wait around and finish them when they come back, we can."

The other wolf sighed and held two bags, handing one to Drago. "No. We don't wanna keep him waiting."

Drago smiled and took the bag. "Good choice."

Raife and Shale watched them re-enter their house. After a few minutes, they dragged the bloody bags to the back of the wagon and loaded them up. Both hyenas watched with damp eyes as the wolves hopped in the wagon as it took off. Their parents had been killed and they were alone. They waited for the wagon to disappear out of sight before they crawled up the rest of the way.

They just stood there on the hill, holding hands as they stared at their home, not wanting to get close or step foot inside. Raife could feel her heart skip a few beats and held her chest, thinking she would hyperventilate and pass out. Shale eyed her and knelt down in front of her.

"We're gonna be okay," she said. "But we need to go inside."

"N-No, I don't..." Raife whimpered as she backed up.

Shale grabbed her so she wouldn't fall off the hill again. "We have to. We can't stay out here."

"I can't go in there. I..."

Shale held her shoulders. "Just... stay behind me. Okay? I'll look first."

Raife sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "Okay."

Shale sighed and took her hand before they slowly trekked back to their house. When they got to the front door, they realized that they had left it open. Shale wanted to kill herself for that mistake. She peeked in and saw nothing. No damage, no blood. "Wait at the stairs."

She headed left into the living room while Raife went to sit on the stairs. The older sister went through the living room to the master bedroom. She grabbed the doorknob and took a deep breath before she cracked it open and peeked inside. The bed was covered in blood and the floor was stained. Her breath caught in her throat and she closed the door, trying not to burst into tears. She had to be strong for her sister. Now, more than ever.

Once she composed herself, she returned to the stairs. "Okay, we'll... go file a report with the town guard... and they'll clean it up." Raife said nothing. "I'll be right back."

She returned to the bedroom and opened the door. The bed was still bloody. She did her best not look at it as she went over to the far corner of the room. Kneeling down, she gripped a loose floorboard with her claws and pulled it free. Setting it aside, she pulled one of many bags of bits out of the space and covered it back up. She returned to her sister with the money.

"Come on. We're sleeping at the hotel tonight."

Raife nodded quickly and got up. "Good. I can't sleep here."

"Me, neither," Shale said as she took her sister's hand, the two leaving their home behind.

What started out as the best day ever has quickly turned into the worst night ever. The two sisters filed their report, the town guards did their job, but no action was taken to track down Drago. Shale got them a room at the town's inn and the two just climbed into bed, holding each other as they did their best to forget what had just happened. Shale waited until her sister was finally asleep before she kissed her forehead.

"Happy birthday, sweetie," she whispered sadly, before she closed her eyes and let sleep take her as well.