Young Writers Society

Boris shied away. He was tired. But not the sort of tired that lent itself well to sleeping. The kind that took, that ate what little patience or reason the boy was capable of, lending only fuel to his worries in recompense. He spoke with effort, pushing them out.

"...No," he forced the words. "I'm..."I'm scared."

The forest was already magic, after all. So many unnatural things had happened. It seemed as though it was exactly the sort of fairy woods that would swallow lost children and keep them forever.

"What if...what if I don't find the way home? What if this night doesn't end? Sigmund is- I know my big brother must still be looking for me- "

Tears began to trickle down his cheeks, but he was beyond caring about that now. He looked to Damascus, for just a bit of reassurance.

"All I did was play tricks, and cause trouble, if I don't see my family again- that's it... That's all they'll have to remember."

Damascus frowned at how differently Boris seemed to be acting. Where before, he was all puffy-chested and full of confidence (warranted or not), he seemed, well.. small. It took the young demon aback, and he held his hands together in front of himself, eyes wide as he listened for an explanation.

"Scared?" He repeated, voice small and hesitant. "I thought you were never scared." A moment later, and everything seemed to spill out of Boris. His tears and worries were all laid bare, and Damascus hopped up from his log is distress.

"Boris, no, you're leaking!" He gasped out, rubbing the palms of his hands into the boy's cheeks in an attempt to stop the flow of tears. "I'm sure everything will be okay, it has to be!"

Not knowing what else to do, he threw his arms around Boris' small shoulders, a pinch of guilt at his belly. He had appeared here, in Prussia, after wanting to run away, but all of the other children.. well, they didn't end up here on purpose. They all wanted to go home, but Damascus would have been happy staying here forever. If he promised that everyone would go home, well.. that would mean he would have to too.

Pushing aside his own fears with a fast shake of his head, his arms tightened around Boris. "I'm sure your family misses you very much. You have tricks, but.. you are a good human, Boris." He consoled, voice serious. "Everyone will find a way to get home, I just know it. And we have each other now too!"

Schadel stared at the ceiling of the tent.

She wasn't really sure when she had fallen asleep, but she had fallen asleep at some point. And now she was awake again. It was still dark. Edward had fallen asleep next to her, hugging his teddy bear tightly. Schadel counted all of her brothers in the darkness.

And then she counted again. Two were missing.

She rose from her spot, having shed her more human form as she fell asleep. She had trouble looking human when she wasn't really thinking it. Not wanting to be smaller right now, she leaned over and slipped out of the tent.

It took her sleepy brain a moment to register who was up.

"Boris?" she asked, voice groggy. "Damascus?"

And then she realized Boris was crying and Damascus was hugging him, so she did the first thing that came to mind—she rushed over to them and joined in on the hug. Which was kind of awkward, since she was so big and lanky compared to both of them, but she hoped they didn't mind.

"I don't know what's wrong," she said, quickly, "but Blanx always hugs me when I'm feeling sad or crying, and it always helps me feel better."

There had been a lot of stirring. James didn't really remember falling asleep, but when he began to wake up, he remembered where he was, in the tent, with his new siblings.

He rolled over, thinking he'd heard something, and when he opened his eyes, all he saw was Edward, fast asleep on the tent floor.

But that didn't seem right. What happened to the others?

He sat up with a little groan and rubbed his eyes, looking around the tent. He felt sleepy, but not too tired. Surely, the others couldn't have gone too far. He hoped they were okay.

Still drowsy, he got to his feet and shuffled to the exit of the tent, peeking out. Near the fire, he saw Boris, Schadel, and Damascus all gathered in what looked like a hug.

He sniffed, rubbing his eyes once more as he squinted in the dark.

"Hey, guys... is everything okay?" he asked sleepily.