Chapter 8 - Silt and Sana

After a quick word shared with father, Silt agreed to continue my education. Before that, he caressed my solidifying shell and muttered, "Little sister..." Sana made a few loops before she vanished into the darkness.

While laying on what I hoped was sufficient little sister mood, I asked, "What's the outside like?"

Straightening but not letting go of me, Silt reiterated what father had cautioned, "Don't you fret about the outside. It's not here. I'm here and so are you, so precious, so cute. I can kick away anything out there that tries to hurt sweet little you."

If I could, I would raise an eyebrow with my question, "Kick?"

Slipping on what had to be swagger, Silt intoned, "The Silt Mudwell Certifiable Smackdown Kick. No ruffian, danger, or stranger would dare to face my strike. Observe..."

First setting me aside in a molded cushion of mud, Silt stepped back, checked that he had plenty of clearance between father and anyone else, then unleashed a rapid, spinning combo that looked like something out of a street fighting game. 

To complement the moves, he yelped, "HEEYA! HO! WAAAA! YAAAHAAAA! HAAA!" Prepared to unleash another balletic combo, he failed to notice Sana dart from the shadows above and grab hold of his extended limb. Fumbling and off-balance, Silt still gathered himself and managed a buggy Bruce Lee-like counter that would've sent Sana flying if not for the fact she held on and brought them both to the ground in a heap.

With a throat-clearing sound, Sana hopped to her feet and assessed, "It still seems to be a work-in-progress."

"No fair stealing my coolness in front of my precious little sister!" Silt stated, his voice muffled by the mud.

"Our precious little sister. You think that's something? Wait till you see what I can do..."

On fleet feet, Sana flashed like a tempest towards the nearest wall. Climbing a sheer surface, the outline of her burst forth, sailing like a bolt of lightning to the ground to strike right in front of Silt's face.

Unflinching, Silt muttered, "It's alright..."

With a flick of her limbs, she cleanly popped him free from the mud. Concentrating, I tried to discern their aromas out of the noise of the cave and overriding, nutmeg presence of father. Silt reminded me of cinnamon bubblegum I'd chewed once. It advertised itself with a plume of fire, but instead, I just felt a feisty sweetness. Sana still proved elusive but rekindled a memory.

I missed my roommate and not just because he helped around the house so much. When mom moved out, it felt like she left me with a whale of responsibilities and no place to breathe. I managed to keep going but it was too much for one person.

Wiatte had no place else to go. His family had no refuge for him. His employer, who had gotten far too personal, acted like he'd betrayed her. And Valerie could only put him up for a night. I had plenty of space in the remains of my life.

From that first evening, he talked, and I listened as he unfurled the same feelings and frustrations I felt. Soon, we reshaped the rooms into designs and delights mom had never considered. I even felt things for him neither of us had ever contemplated. The weight of that place lifted, and I could see a future stretching ahead.

Of course, hope could never last.

Sana bolted me from my self-reflection and admonished, "I don't see glee on my baby sister. Now that is something I cannot abide."

Before I could contemplate what glee looked like on a bug, Sana set about grooming me with dancing, delighting fervor. Her motions blasted away debris and scoured my little body to tingling relief. It also felt just like being tickled.

Squirming, screaming, and stretching, I had no hope to get away. She could do whatever she wanted to me and wouldn't let me go till all...well, these bugs considered light bad and dark good so...till all my sun-scorched sorrow cooled to shadowy smiles and snug, drippy security.

Uncle! Aunt! Sister! Please! She was as unrelenting in her pursuit as her huntress presence suggested. Horseradish but the creamy kind that soothed as it burned but with a strawberry aftertaste. That was a weird one, but I had other concerns as she kept teasing delight out of me until something had to give.

It turned out to be what felt like both my bladder and my gut. The remains of mother-bug's milky gift and whatever else this body might've had before, I made plop right on the muddy ground. Dipping with embarrassment while still wracked with the giggles, I tried to slip away or bury my shame.

"Sis! Eww! Look at what you did!" Though I turned away, Silt's words were not for me but rather Sana, who glared back at him.

"Me? Who swung this sweetie around like a precious pebble and then terrified her with his useless noises and darting limbs? Not I. Poor sis. It's okay, your big scary brother won't get you."

Swiftly, Sana cleaned me up as much as one bug might be expected to clean up another. She set me down in a comfortable spot where I could soak in her big sisterly aroma as Silt's sugary cinnamon struggled to get close again.

"Now, you have nothing to worry about. You've had a big day, getting to meet so many of us. But the milk light has gone into hiding and the bitter burn and blasting breeze have come. Soon, your little eyes will sink, and the serenity of night will cuddle up inside you. So, let your loving big sister tell you her favorite bedtime story."