A Race Against Time

4 - Playing With Earth

Though it took slight struggle, Solar made his way into the daycare. He still held himself by the waist, trying to relieve any pain he could. He looked up to see an excited Earth and a fort made with barrels and blankets. Earth offered her hand, which he gladly took. She helped him across the daycare and into the fort.

Inside, Solar found several pillows outlining the space. Earth's skin sparkled like stars, giving the small space light. Different knitting tools and balls of yarn sat in the center.

"I'm really excited, hehe!" Earth cheered. "Oh, before I forget," she pulled a small lollipop out of her pocket and handed it to Solar. He held it in the palm of his hand, looking at orange and red swirls in the candy.

"Thanks, Earth. Uh- what are you gonna make?" Despite Solar's hand deteriorating, he was able to steadily and painlessly hold the knitting tools. He twiddled them in his fingers as he spoke.

"I was going to knit a bunny! You said you wanted to do a snake?"

"Yeah- I'm not very good at knitting, I feel like that would be easiest."

"We don't need to be good to have fun!" Earth smiles sincerely at Solar. He shrugged, but still wore a grin. Earth held up forest green yarn so that Solar could see it. "Is this the yarn you want to use?"

Solar nodded, accepting the yarn and starting to weave the tool through it. The yarn looped together, eventually creating a tube-like shape in which he stuffed scrap fabric and cotton. He sealed off the ends. It looked incredibly derpy; but who cares. He picked up a sewing needle and, though the last time he sewed anything was patching the hand-me-down pants his Moon gave him, he skillfully added a mouth, eyes, and nostrils. He couldn't help but laugh at the finished product.

"Hahahah! I should've added a tongue, it would look so much funnier!" He chuckled.

"I think it looks nice," Earth claimed.

"Thanks, Earth. How does yours look?" Earth lifted her bunny to show Solar. His jaw dropped at the sight of the cute animal. It had far much more detail; not only did she use several shades of colors to give the bunny a unique look, but she knitted shadows under the head and body. It had floppy ears and tiny paws.

"They're not done yet, of course. They still need a tail and eyes."

"Your rabbit is so good, Earth! You clearly did far better than I did-" Solar gestures to the straight snake next to him. He paused when pain shot into his arm. He winced, drawing his arm back.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Earth leaned towards Solar and reached out for his sore arm. He pulled off his glove gently, trying to avoid further pain.

"Oh...oh no."

The decay had crawled up his wrist, and was beginning to cut through his forearm. A lot of his hand was already gone and it hardly functioned anymore.

"I- uh- hm...I wonder if I made it worse by knitting-"

"I'M SO SORRY!" Earth cried. She grabbed Solar and brought him into a hug, making him flinch. "Dang it! Did I just make the situation worse?"

"NO, no, I don't know for sure if anything can worsen the decay. And I just didn't expect the hug." Earth set him down, pouting. Solar looked back down at his wrist and ran his finger along the cracks climbing his arm. He touched the damaged ray, finding that it had a deep chip in it.

"I had fun, thank you. However I really need to check this out with Moon. Maybe I can figure out whether activity changes the rate of decay. Love you, I'll see you later!" Solar began standing up and approached the fort's exit.

"Solar..?"

"Yeah, Earth?"

"I haven't discussed this very much, but...could  we call you our brother? There's always been a deeper connection, you are so much more than a cousin. Even though you don't care much about the whole family tree, I'm sure Lunar has always seen you as a big brother-like figure." Solar's eyes widened. He'd never thought about that. These animatronics were the most caring, funnest people he knew. It would definitely be nice to call Sun and Moon his brothers again...

"I'd love that, Earth." She began raising her  wide open arms. "Is this a hug, or..?" And yes, Earth embraced him in a warm hug. This time he did not flinch.

"Okay, I know you have to go now. Love you brother," Earth exclaimed.

"Love you, sis." He'd have to get used to that. They smiled at each other and Solar left the fort, pulling his glove back on. "I better make it out of this alive now..."

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We got the brother sister moment yippee! Sorry for the wait, but I hope it was worth it.

Have a great day/evening!

(832 words)