Home Sweet Home

Frankie had never been one to worry about his sister too much. Cleric was strong willed, she was hatched that way. She didn’t mind being on her own, and oftentimes when they had been younger she preferred to figure things out on her own and barely asked for help. And of course there were times Frankie would help her without being asked, and other times where he’d make a big deal out of it to get a rise out of her.

The pair were thick as thieves even now as adolescents. But ever since their little spat with the Strya’s, something had started to change. It wasn’t overnight. Or even over weeks. It had been months, and then over a year. Frankie had grown, moved on from the siblings that they had called friends. His patterns had grown brighter and as he started to get closer to being a full adult, his dimorphic marking had started to come in clearer and clearer. A bright yellow patch of hide on his head that he flashed about whenever he could. But Cleric had done the opposite.

Cleric had withdrawn in on herself. Never wanting to really go out and was content with staying on the farm and staying around Apocrypha and Kallista. That had never bothered Frankie, however. It was her constant need to nitpick and her search for perfection that had started to cause him some worry. Nothing was right. Something needed to be fixed wherever she went. The sweet little Utah that Frankie had known was still in there somewhere, he knew it. But for some reason she had been replaced with a creature that never ceased to worry about if something was good enough.

“Do you think this has to do with being told she was the issue?” He asked, sitting beside Apocrypha by the nearby pond and looked at the reflection of himself in the water. Apocrypha sat beside him, having been there most of the morning on her own and had been enjoying the quiet after getting cleaned up from a hunt that morning to bring food back for everyone.

The question came out of left field, making the Alberto tilt her head a bit and look down at the brightly spotted Utah who was fixated on turning his head back and forth to look himself completely over.

“Last year, I mean. The plant-munchers. When they said we were the issues even though you and I know it wasn’t us that had the issues. It was them. Do you think Cleric has been thinking about that the entire time? Somehow thinking it was her fault and trying to find fault in herself? I feel like she’s growing angry and more naggy because of that. She looks for faults in herself, every little thing, in some sort of attempt to figure out why they didn’t want to be our friends. But the issue was never with us. It was with them. So she’s not going to find anything wrong with her.” Frankie asked, lowering his head to look at the yellow mark on his head and smirked a bit.

Apocrypha listened, watching her son as he contemplated. For being something that was so in love with himself and could be horrifically shallow. Sometimes he had good thoughts and ideas. And this was probably the only time that week where he’d have such a profound thought.

“Maybe. I wonder about that as well.” Apocrypha said and sighed, looking out over the pond, watching as a fish jumped from the water and then flopped back down into it. The whole situation with Cleric made her sad. She’d seen the tiny raptor go from rather outgoing to just…almost a shell. A husk. Bitter and angry with everything because she was in search of perfection. And no matter what Apocrypha told her, she didn’t seem to understand that perfection was impossible.

“I want to help her, but I don’t know how. This place feels like the problem. But I know it’s not. But. Maybe it is.” Frankie said and looked over at Apocrypha and tilted his head a bit.

“I think I need to agree. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, actually. I think it would do her good to leave. You all need to go and see the isle. Find your own place in it. I’m not kicking you out, of course. But I think if you two found your own place, it would help her out. It would allow her to be more worried and concerned about normal things, and not trying to make something into the ideal thought of what it should be. She needs to learn that sometimes, just being good enough is good.” Apocrypha said and looked back down at Frankie who actually seemed to smirk a bit and gave a nod.

“I’m happy to see we were thinking the same thing. I actually heard about this beautiful place out east called the Shimmering Cove. People were saying the pools out that way had healing properties. But what if they could heal the mind as well? I figure I would take her out that way. See if we can find any other Utah raptors. And it wouldn’t be tooooo far from here! You and bird-mom would be able to visit easily if you wanted.” He said and smiled up at Apocrypha who just listened and gave a nod back.

“I heard of it. I’ve seen it, too. You will love it there. Whatever you two will need, Kallista and I will help you pack for the trip.” She replied and smiled.

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It took Frankie nearly a month to convince Cleric to leave. And from there it took another week before they had gathered up enough for Cleric to feel safe with leaving. They had packed one of the bags Kallista had found full of various food and medicinal supplies that Frankie had then looped over his head so he could carry it.

Cleric had always figured it would be Apocrypha that would cry the day they left. Instead it was Kallista. The Tropeognathus fretting over herself and Frankie the entire morning. Asking if they were feeling okay, insisting the weather wasn’t quite right and they should probably wait another day before heading out. But Frankie was insistent that they leave. Cleric just wanted to get it all over with as well.

As soon as the pair had hugged Kalli, she had burst into tears, though Apocrypha had been quick to point out that if anything happened the siblings could just come and find them. They were maybe a day’s walk from the Shimmering Cove, no more then two days at most. That fact seemed to calm Kallista a little, though Frankie could still hear her sniffles as they walked away from the farm.

The raptor pair had arrived at the Cove in the early evening hours, the sun setting over the water and casting a beautiful glow over everything. For a few solid minutes, the two could only stare at the rainbow of colors they saw from the rocks, sand, and tropical sunset. For Frankie, it was the second most beautiful thing ever, him being the first. For Cleric, the sight granted her some relief.

Since the falling out with their best friends, her mind had never stopped racing. Had she done everything right? What had she done wrong? Was she doing everything to the best of her ability? The worries were non stop. Constant. Ceaseless and nagging. Some might’ve described her thoughts as a living hell. But for her, that was now just a part of life. Whenever anyone talked to her, she had to wonder what their motives were. Was she being polite to them? Was she stepping on them and what they were saying? Everything she did was wrong, but everyone always told her she did great and amazing. But she never believed them.

But there, at the Cove, those worries stopped. For the first time in a year, she was fully in that singular moment. The cool sea breeze on her hide, the smell of the ocean and the sound of the waves gently lapping up onto the shore. And then there was all the colors. She wiggled her toes into the soft sand below them, the warmth hugging her feet as her gaze softened on the rainbow rocks that lay all around them.

She felt completely calm. And so completely in that moment.

Frankie could only smile. For the first time in a year, he could feel the constant worry that hounded his sister fade. The smile she had was soft, kind. It was the old her, the Cleric that only wanted the best out of everyone and everything, but also fully loved people without question.

“Come on. We should probably find somewhere to sleep before it gets too much more dark out here. And then tomorrow we can explore around a bit more.” Frankie said, breaking the silence as he turned and trotted off down the beach to examine some of the rock outcroppings. Cleric blinked, looking over at him before running after him to catch up.

The two found a nice little cavern not long after looking. By the sight of it, the cave was abandoned and by the smell of it, no one had been there in quite some time as well. The siblings made their way in, putting the bag of supplies down, Frankie quickly rifling through it and brought out some of the meat they’d brought with them. The two ate their dinner before working at the back of the cave to make a nest. They dug out the sand and replaced it with leaves, blankets, and pillows that they’d brought with them from the farm.

Cleric was the first one into the nest, spinning around quickly before laying down and yawned wide before setting her head on the ground and closed her eyes. Frankie watched her, smiling a bit at the sight of just how tired she was to nearly instantly pass out before he made his way over to stand over her. He quickly flopped down behind her, snuggling up close and wrapped his tail around her to keep her close, to make her feel secure and safe. And before long she was out, her breathing deepening and becoming slower.

Frankie listened to it for quite some time, idly running a hand over her head before settling his own head down on top of her neck. His eyes drifted around the cave as he laid there, looking over how barren the walls were and just how open the entrance was. It would all be something they fixed the following day. They would make that little cavern their home, and it would give Cleric something to do. Something productive to worry over instead of fretting over what was already established.

Frankie yawned as well, closing his eyes as he listened to his sister sleeping. There were no words that could describe how happy for her that he was. She seemed to be enjoying herself, and she’d fallen asleep quicker then he had ever seen her pass out before. All of these things were good omes.

And if there was anything Apocrypha taught him. It was to listen to the omens you’re given. They would have nothing at all to worry about.