It was spring. A house, surrounded by a forests beauty, shrouded in greenery, sat tranquil in the warm air. Butterflies danced lazily about, hopping from flower to flower for their sweet nectar. Vines that crept up the old structures walls of the house bloomed beautiful, white flowers. Birds twittered in the air. The world was alive; outside and inside. There was no car in the driveway. The owners of the house were out for a picnic this lovely afternoon. This meant the beings indoors were at their liveliest, traversing through open rooms, setting up gadgets to climb the surfaces they found towering, and collecting bits and crumbs of food while they had the chance. When the house was empty was when they were most free.
"Mama, have you seen my twine?" Dahlia called, running down the twirling staircase of their home. Her chestnut hair was wild and unkempt, and her mother clucked her tongue in disapproval as her only daughter entered the kitchen. "Dahlia, my love, you must make some sort of effort with your hair. A braid of some kind." "Braids take too long, Mama," Dahlia replied distractedly, her gaze caught by the dandelion pastries her mother has just pulled out from the fireplace. Her mother noticed and shook her head. "Don't be touching these; they're for tea with the neighbors." "Do the neighbors even like dandelion?" Dahlia complained. "I am certain that they don't like dandelion nearly as much as I do. They won't appreciate them, Mama." "No. Touching," her mother replied sternly, turning back to the woodstove, dusting her hands off on her apron as she leaned down to prod the flames. Dahlia fell silent before swiping one of the pastries, taking a bite as she headed for the door. "Bye, Mama!" Meanwhile, in the basement of the house, Victor waved a hand through the air, coughing slightly as he tried to breathe. He had fallen two feet, which hurt a little, and he rubbed the small of his back, groaning slightly. Mice nests and dust bunnies had blanketed his fall, though, and he looked around, squinting in the gloom as he sat up. His young voice was raspy and quiet with disuse, and he called out into the darkness. "Munsheiner?" There was a scuttling in the darkness, but no response. Victor frowned, standing up and pulling his pack tighter to his back and began humming to himself, a nervous tick he had picked up. He walked into the darkness, casting worried glances around him.
Osiris was exploring in attic, rather than within the walls. They often found cloth and other useful items. The fabric they would cut and trade would be chalked up to moths by humans. He was atop a dresser, looking across the vast room. His small hands gripped the edge, his eyes wide. Down below, in the floorboards above the basement was a bustling, people moving about, bringing in the plants they had collected that they from outside. A young child however, was just beyond the living space, toying with rope and a hook made from paper clips.
Dahlia balanced along a beam, sticking her arms out as she wobbled along the edge. A rope was her target, hanging at the end of the beam. She hurried forward and caught the rope, her hands easily finding the little knots she had made in it. She began to climb; today, she was determined to finally break into the attic. Her parents had warned her about changing floors, saying that if she got lost, they would never know where she was. This did not deter her, as she had already explored a majority of the second floor. The attic would be a little tricky, though; she would have to be more careful. Victor squinted in the gloom, wiping his runny nose on the sleeve of his oversized coat, his green eyes large in the darkness. "Munsheiner?" he called again. "Where are you?" A faint light came from a hole in the wall, and Victor approached it, pulling himself up, cutting his palm in the process. He wanted to cry; he was tired and lost and alone, and now his hand hurt. After a moment, though, he thought better of it, climbing through the wall and jumping down on the other side, still cradling his hand. He looked around and his gaze fell upon a young girl.
Osiris looked around. There was a rope the adults had used to climb down. He grabbed it, throwing it off the edge. He grabbed on, slowly starting to climb down. She looked up, maybe a little afraid at first. She realized he was about her age and relaxed a little, sitting up onto her knees. "Are you okay?"
She pulled herself up and took a deep breath, brushing her hands on her pants. This was the hardest part, or at least, the most unfamiliar part. She pulled herself up, climbing through a gap in the floor. Just like that, she was in the attic, although she didn't quite know it yet. She coughed, covering her mouth with her hands, and looked around, her eyes squinting in the gloom. * * * Victor looked over at her, wiping his nose with the back of his good hand again. He was silent for a moment before speaking. "Have you seen a mouse?"
Osiris kept going down, eventually reaching the floor with a soft thud, brushing his hands off. *** She brightened, looking at the hole he came from. "A mouse? No, I haven't. Mice don't really come around here. Is your hand okay?"
Dahlia heard the thud and frowned, her head jerking towards the area where she had heard the noise. "Who's there? I swear, if you're a spider, I am not messing around!" * * * He looked down at his hand for a moment, squinting. "It hurts," he said quietly, looking up at her. "But I gotta find my mouse first before I do anything else. He gets awful panicked if I'm not around."
Osiris's eyes widened and he hesitated, stepping forward. "Hello..?" *** "He's yours?" she said, her voice heightening as she stood up quickly, taking her makeshift tool. "Let's go find him!"
She squinted, her hands on her hips. There were no spiders that spoke down in the kitchen, but maybe these were special attic spiders. "Where are you?" she asked, her head turning quickly to look around. * * * He looked at her shyly before looking down at the ground for a minute. "He... well.... he..." The boy shuffled his feet. "He doesn't like new people that much."
He looked around, seeming a bit curious. "I'm.. on the floor?" *** She stopped, frowning. "Oh.. Okay."
She frowned, turning and seeing him. Something like relief crossed her face. "Oh. You're not a spider." * * * He seemed to notice her expression and was quiet before speaking. "So... if you wanna come with, you gotta be really quiet."
He frowned, maybe looking a little confused. "But.. spiders don't talk." *** She brightened again. "Okay! I can be quiet."
She looked even more relieved, looking around. "Oh, good. They don't speak up here either?" * * * He nodded, approaching her tentatively. "His name is Munsheiner," he said, looking around nervously.
He laughed, but looked a little nervous. "No.. Not up here. Who are you?" *** She nodded, looking excited. "Okay.. Let's go find him."
She looked over at him, seeming to remember that he was someone unfamiliar to her. She straightened up, extending a hand. "Dahlia of Hyndesse House," she said brightly. "Who are you?" * * * He looked over his shoulder before heading back to the hole in the wall, climbing over. "Can you make it over?"
He rubbed his arm sheepishly before shaking her hand. "O-Osiris.. of Kormalik. We live up here." *** She hesitated, going to try to get over, struggling before finally making it.
"Osiris," she repeated, moving past him to survey the rest of the attic. "That's a funny name. What does it mean?" * * * He looked up at her blankly before coughing into his sleeve. "Okay. He has to be around here somewhere..."
He shrugged.. "I dunno. My mom named me." *** She looked around with a frown before speaking quietly. "You seem sick."
She looked back at him with a cheeky smile. "Mine too! I mean... she named me. My papa wanted to name me Turnip, but I don't like that as much." * * * He looked over at her strangely, wrinkling his nose in confusion. "What?"
