missing

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The night was winding down at the Nook, as most of the wynglings had gone to bed and the older ones--the ones willing to help Alma with the dishes and clean up--dispersed as the work was done. The plates were neatly set back into the cupboards, and all the chairs in the dining hall prone with legs upward on the tables, for easy clean up of the floors. Alma was grateful for the help of the older wyngrew of the Nook, the ones that were grown but not yet fully grown. She watched them joke, laugh, and blossom into the young adults they were, and in all her years, all her children became wonderful wyngrew that contributed greatly to Wynsiph's little society.

The motherly woman understood, then, the quiet struggles that some of these wyngrew had, as all wyngrew their age went through. Trials and tribulations of love, coming of age, and internal strife that made them, well, teenagers. It was part of life, she mused, and the little pair that arrived together, Noki and Koshari, would be no different at all.

Noki stood by the window in the kitchens, gazing out quietly, letting out a small huff before narrowing her eyes to the distant horizon. The sun had long left the sky, the blazing trail leaving naught but a quickly smothering dark blanket. Her claws held idly onto a drying cloth, as the dish in her left claws nearly slipped. She gave a weak gasp, and caught it before it crashed down over the counter.

It was much too late. Koshari was never this late home. What if something terrible had happened? What if he was exploring too deep in the forest and came across trouble, and couldn't get help? Noki's heart clenched and her claws made the same circular motion, over and over on the plate, long dry. She had just seen him that morning, when they had went to visit the town square and listen to the mayor's speech. Founding day was very much over, and their promised dinner time had come and gone.

The grey-furred girl twitched her whiskers, a nervous habit stemmed from her soft features contorting with worry. He had seemed strange this morning, as well. She hated pressing people on their emotions--Koshari's eyes gazed down at her this morning as they usually did, with the warmth of the sun she had enjoyed so dearly. However, something tugged at her whiskers, a bad feeling she associated similarly with when she observed aspects rising in the sky at unfavourable angles. A small tingle of a bad omen, that grew a seed of worry within her. The seed had rooted within her throughout the day, as she thought of his melancholic eyes, until now, where not a trace of his scent was around.

Alma, standing by the wash basin and setting down the last of the wet dishes, watched Noki with quiet interest.

"What's wrong, my dear? The stars not bright tonight?"

Noki broke out of her static gaze, and glanced over at the older wyngrew. Her ears flattened and her earring nearly drooped to her shoulder. "Mama Alma, Koko.. He isn't back yet. I'm just worried. He's never this late."

"Yes, that is a bit strange, isn't it?" Alma smiled, putting a paw on Noki's shoulder reassuringly. "But I'm sure he's fine and has a good reason."

Blue eyes darted quickly to Alma, then back to the horizon. "But what would he be doing that's making him so late? What if he's hurt? Or... maybe I did something wrong this morning." Noki's voice trailed off, and she put the plate down. "I'm sorry, Mama. I need to go rest, I think."

Alma gave Noki a gentle kiss on the cheek, and watched the young girl turn out the doorway toward the dorm rooms. With each step Noki took, she imagined the darkness Koshari might've been enveloped in, where he might be cold outside right now. Alma was right--the stars would be dim tonight, and it seemed as though it may rain. Without thinking, her feet took her straight to Koshari's room, where she stopped at the doorway and stared at the empty bed.

She paused, putting a claw to the door frame. There would be no night time chatter with him tonight. No banter, or quiet good nights. He was missing, and she was lost.

(730 words)