>>5297332>>5297312“I’m gonna spend time with Grampa,” Cici says after a moment of thought. “He’s not gonna be in town long.”
“Hmm. Not a bad idea…” There’s clearly still something on Iris’ mind, but it takes her a long length of road before she finally settles on the words. “I do wonder, Cici. Aren’t you worried?”
“Huh. ‘Bout what?”
“Well, about the visitors heading our way, mostly, about your grandmother and whatever she has planned for you and your mother.”
“Nuh-uh.” The younger girl doesn’t miss a beat or a step before answering, drawing a questioning look as they continue to march along.
“Really?” her adoptive sister asks.
“Really,” Cici confirms.
“And why is that, exactly? Did you have a vision of some sort that everything is going to be okay?”
“Nuh-uh,” the girl admits. “But I have you an’ Vivi an’ the voices an’ Mama an’ so many people who care about me. An’ so long as we all have each other, I don’t think anything too bad can happen.”
“I…” Again, Iris has something on the tip of her tongue, but shakes her head gently before simply responding: “I really hope you’re right.”
There’s only a little road left at this point between where they are and home, the girls walking close together as the lengthening shadows of the forest fall upon them, traveling for the most part in comfortable silence until the sight of a distant bonfire and the smell of roasting dinner enraptures their senses.
“Mama! Grampa! We’re home!” Cici calls, realizing just a little too late that far more than that had joined together for tonight’s dinner.
Mama, Grampa Brad, Uncle Yesh, Aunt Rosie, Uncle Mishael, Queen Ashana, Ms. Willow, Sarah, Raine, Mina, and even Melody are all there to greet her.
> Seems there’s a bit of a party going on.> [] Ask Cassandra what’s going on.> [] Request a change of wearer for a while. To who?> [] Other. Write-in. 