Notes

Chayanne has no idea what time he wakes up, but judging by the clock on the wall of the nest, it’s a little past one am. He stretches his arms over his head, fully prepared to fall back asleep, when he glances at Tallulah’s bed to see it empty. She normally wouldn’t be awake at this hour, enjoying the sleep she got after long adventures, so this was unusual enough that Chayanne decided to investigate.

Forgetting the fatigue in his limbs, he slides out of his sheets, looking for any sign of where she might have gone. Thankfully, his father is still dead to the world, so he’s able to look for any notes left by his sister without worrying him too.

Though, as he pokes around, there doesn’t seem to be anything new. He frowns, looking down at the pillared structure where they put their messages to Rose. He may not be able to see much of it from up here in the nest, but it didn’t seem like she was inside.

Giving the nest one final look over, he began the climb down to the ground with the rope hung on the edge of the balcony. He struggles slightly, sleep still weighing him down as he descends. Chayanne looks around for any signs of someone recently walking through the short grasses and flowers.

Though, a few metres away from the huge pavilion, something red catches his eye. Tallulah is standing in the brush, glowing warp stone held in her hand and illuminating her face and sleep shirt in her favourite colour. Chayanne assumes the reason she was standing so far away is to not disturb them with the warping sound.

Tallulah doesn’t seem to have noticed him as she’s whisked away, and Chayanne tries and thinks of all the places she might have gone. He narrows it down to some comforting place, as there was no other reason for her to leave without something distressing her, like a nightmare.

He tries multiple locations, like both Uppies and the nest next to Uppies, before trying the home on top of the wall. Here, Chayanne assumes it would take a while longer due to the size of the place, but it takes only a short walk along the potato farm until he spots her.

She’s leaning on of the places where the stone juts up, not unlike a castle, arms crossed and placed on top of the stone. Chayanne steps heavier than he needs to in order to catch her attention to try not to scare her too badly. Despite his attempts, Tallulah jumps at the noise, whipping her head in the direction it came from, though visibly relaxing when she processes who it is.

“Hello,” Her voice is meek, a slight scratchiness to it. She turns her head back to what she was looking at before.

After a few moments of hesitation, Chayanne goes to stand beside her. He wants to know what’s bothering her, but decides it’s better if she says it on her own, not wanting her to feel forced to talk about it. Maybe just his presence is enough‒ hopefully.

Tonight Tallulah is wearing her red beanie, the one she was originally found with. When Chayanne thinks about it, he can’t remember the last time he’d seen her wear it; perhaps before they were kidnapped by the Federation? After, they found a purple mushroom one she decided she liked better, and she wore it instead ever since. So it was strange seeing the original one on her now.

Chayanne tried to follow her gaze, since she wasn’t just looking into space, more so into the buildings below. It was close to her garden, but then he saw the building next to it. The one where she used to stay with her father.

Ah, that made sense.

As if she saw Chayanne’s expression shift, she sighed and dug her face into her crossed arms resting on the raised concrete.

“I doubt he’s coming back at this point,” Tallulah’s voice was muffled by her sleeves. Chayanne hummed in agreement. The last time anyone had seen her father was while they were missing, their dad told them so. Dad had also told them he was worried sick for them, which Tallulah had seemed reassured by.

It was obvious that Tallulah missed her father, with how Chayanne had seen her write letters, quickly stuffing them into her bag after the ink had dried. Even when she began sleeping at her old home, Chayanne had always kept his suspicion that not feeling close enough to the family wasn’t the only reason.

And now, something had caused Tallulah to think of him; a dream perhaps, like he originally thought? Chayanne wanted to comfort her, but he wasn’t sure how. So he stood next to her, hoping it was what she needed.

The night was quiet, even with the occasional bug singing a song. It was also slightly chilly, the wind biting at their noses as it passed. Chayanne was waiting for Tallulah to speak and share what was on her mind, and it seemed Tallulah was lost in thought about something.

Taking a heavy sigh, Tallulah mumbled, “I wish I could send him letters,” She looked down at one of her palms, and it was then that Chayanne noticed small ink smears splashed on her palms. She had been keeping them in her backpack, since they couldn’t bring anything in or out of the island.

“What would you do if he came back?” Chayanne asked. Tallulah paused for a moment, thinking.

“...I’m not sure. He would have missed so much. Any worries for our safety would have already been solved.” Then her expression darkened, “What if he leaves again, knowing I’m in such good hands.” Chayanne lifts his arm and starts drawing meaningless shapes into her back. “Or he could leave if we’re in danger, not wanting to get hurt,” She continued, voice growing watery again.

“I don’t think that would happen,” Chayanne murmurs honestly, “Dad told us he was worried sick when he was told we were missing.” Tallulah nodded in agreement, looking at her and Wilbur’s house again. Even in the dark, the colourful plants could be seen from the wall. It was beautiful, even more so during the day. Chayanne wondered if it would be the same as it is today if Wilbur had stayed.

The night grew quiet again, the moon shining brightly against the stone as the stars flickered.

“I wonder if he can see the same stars,” Tallulah whispered into the cool breeze. In Chayanne’s opinion, he would probably be asleep at this late hour. That reminded him that they should get back to the nest, knowing that their father got worried whenever he woke up and they weren’t there.

Chayanne tapped Tallulah to get her attention, and mumbled, “We should probably get home,” Tallulah nodded, pulling out the warp stone. She took one last look around, at the stars, the stones of the wall, and the flowers and wood of her home, before whispering the name of where she wanted to go. In a burst of purple particles, she was gone.

Chayanne took out his warp stone, but stayed for a moment longer than Tallulah had. For his sister’s sake, he hoped that Wilbur would return, one day. Then, he followed Tallulah back home.