Listen, And The Stars Shall Speak

Vanished

Earlier that day...

Pear frowned as Apple dumped a bag full of colorful paint bottles on the table.

"What are you up to?" She asked with a smile. Apple always had some crazy idea. Rainkeeper insisted that she got his artistic ability, but Pear's quirkiness.

"I'm going to paint patterns on the walls of my room!" Apple declared. She paused in realization. "If that's okay." Pear thought for a moment and shrugged.

"As long as the paint stays in your room, go nuts."

"Yes!" she snatched up the bag and ran for her door. "I'll see you tomorrow!" 

True to her word, Apple didn't come out of her room for the rest of the day. A few hours after suntime, Pear knocked on the door.

"Apple?" There was no response. Pear frowned and opened the door, freezing instantly. The window was open and there were words written on the ground. 

But Apple was nowhere to be found.

"Apple?" Pear called worriedly, racing towards the window. Nothing. She looked down at the note etched in the floor and felt her blood run cold. She quickly grabbed her necklace for reassurance as she read the words.

We warned you we'd be back.

You didn't listen.

Now everyone you love will die. 

The note wasn't signed, but she already knew who it was from. The realization only sent Pear into panic mode as she sprinted out of the house and through the village- nearly crashing into Joy.

"Woah!" Joy yelped in alarm. "Pear? What's wrong?" The world almost seemed to shrink as Pear stared at her sister-in-law.

"Where's Rainkeeper?" she asked urgently.

"He's in the pavilion, why? What happened?" Joy grew more concerned as Pear bolted away, not bothering to answer the question.

*~*~*~*~*

"Rainkeeper!" Pear cried out, rushing over to him and ignoring the fact that Glory and Deathbringer were also there. He eyed her worriedly, wondering what had happened. He hadn't seen her look this terrified since... He shook off the memory and focused on her anxious face.

"What's wrong?" he questioned.

"Apple's gone." she breathed, on the verge of freaking out. "I went to check on her and she wasn't there but the window was open and there's a note on the floor and-" She stopped, trying to hold back a sob. Rainkeeper's eyes widened and Glory and Deathbringer glanced at each other in concern. 

"Where was this?" Deathbringer asked.

"Her room." Pear choked out. He rushed from the room in response, quickly followed by Glory, Rainkeeper, and Pear.

*~*~*~*~*

Upon reaching the room, Deathbringer began to analyze it, as if it were a crime scene. Rainkeeper waited outside the room with Pear, attempting to calm her down. Glory wandered in and read the note on the ground, a worried look on her face. Deathbringer kneeled beside the note and tapped at one of the words, paint immediately sticking to his talon.

"It's still fresh," he commented, wiping off the paint. "That means it was written recently." He sniffed at the air before picking up the discarded paintbrush. "Very recent, if there's still this strong of a scent. Rainwing, I'd say. Strange, it almost seems familiar..." He wandered to the window, tracing his talons against faint claw marks on the sill. 

"What do you think?" Glory asked. Deathbringer frowned, trying to piece it together. He tapped the window sill.

"My best guess," he began. "Is that Apple finished painting, and opened the window herself, seeing as it wasn't forced open. She leans out of the window for some reason, and a dragon flies up and pulls her out, her talons scrapping against the sill. Then, another dragon comes in, writes the note, and follows the other one out."

"How do you know there were two?" He smirked.

"Three different scents. One belongs to Apple, obviously. One for the dragon that pulled her out the window, and one that left the note. It's either that, or some Rainwing has been sneaking into her room."

"Dad. She's three." Rainkeeper deadpanned. He shrugged.

"It's always a possibility." Rainkeeper scowled.

"What do we do now?" Pear whispered. Glory's face turned cold.

"Now we wait. If she's not back by morning, we'll send out search parties. We see if any sign of a ransom is sent, or if we get a message from the kidnappers. We try to identify who took her and where they might go. " Glory explained. She paused. "We tell Joy, and keep a closer eye on Ander and Rin. I'll contact Sunny and make sure Shore is alright and that he stays that way."

"What if they hurt her?" Glory gave her a look.

"Then we drag those bastards out of whatever hole they're cowering in and we rip them to shreds." She declared. "Because they chose the wrong damn family to mess with."