Wake Up

OA: Eden

w a k e u p

'''Cause we've been driving so long I can't remember how we got here Or how we survived so long'''

"Sis, wake up!" Laius hissed, fear in his eyes as he desperately shook the she-cat awake. Blood ran from fresh wounds on her pelt, bright red against dark brown. "Please! Please, Selkie!"

Selkie's paws twitched, and she shifted, a look of discomfort - or was it pain? - crossed her face. Laius saw another cut open on her shoulder and he wailed, "Selkie!" At this point, he didn't care if he woke anyone else up, he needed to get his sister out of wherever she was.

Suddenly Selkie shrieked and her one green eye shot open. She hastily scrambled to her paws, her flanks heaving, and her eye was as round as the moon. In the darkness of the cramped den, her terrified gaze rested on her brother, and the bloodied she-cat heaved a sigh. "Laius, I've told you not to wake me up during training." She began to lick her wounds, seeming unbothered by the taste of her own blood.

The young tom felt tears brimming his eyes. He tried to blink them away, but they only began to trail down his face despite his attempts. A sob escaped his jaws, and he pressed his face into his sister's shoulder. He felt Selkie's tail wrap comfortingly around him. "B-but you're hurt! Y-y-you were in p-pain!" he hiccupped, turning his fear-filled blue eyes up to meet Selkie's green one.

"That's just how training is there. You know this, Laius." Selkie responded quietly.

"I kn-know, b-b-but--" Laius sobbed and shook his head, unable to continue. The lump that had formed in his throat made it hard to finish his protest. He wiped at his face with a forepaw, now refusing to look at Selkie. He hated crying; it just made him look weak, but he couldn't help it. He was just so emotional.

Selkie sighed. "Laius, I'm training so I'll be able to defend us and the Guild. Aren't you grateful?"

"No!" Laius snapped. He instantly looked regretful and mumbled, "I don't want you to get hurt. You might even get killed, Selkie!" He hesitated before suggesting, "Wh-why don't you just train with the other fighters?"

"Because they don't provide any real training." Selkie said coldly. "Training in the Willows actually helps me learn and better myself. The Guild's training is too soft." The brown tabby turned her back on her brother and settled back into her nest, which was smeared with her blood.

Laius was silent. He wiped at his face again before whispering, "I'm going back to sleep. Good night, Selkie."

'''I'm tryna run from our pride Till you set fire to my atmosphere''' Selkie wasn't like that before. Laius remembered when he was younger, a tiny kitten at his mother's side. He remembered Selkie's joyful smile, her two bright eyes. She laughed a lot back then, too, and her laugh was one thing nearly everyone liked about her.

Training in the Willows really changed her.

They took her good heart, her playfulness and readiness to learn. They took her eye, too.

When he was a kit, Laius looked up to Selkie. He wanted to be like her. She had a big impact on his life; she'd been the one to encourage him to be a fighter for the Guild, so they could train together - even though she'd only had a month of training left at the time.

He didn't know when Selkie's first visit to the Willows happened. He just remembed her excited chatter about being the best fighter in any guild, that she was getting more training. At the time, he hadn't thought to stop her. After all, maybe it had just been a dream or she was just spouting nonsense.

'''And I remember how I spent the 23rd Feeling six feet under When I'm 30,000 feet in the air'''

'''Chasing that sundown So far east I'm westbound Feeling like the edge of this world is near'''

But you'll feel better when you wake up Swear to God, I'll make up Everything and more when I get back someday

'''This is more than just a phase, love Shooting stars all break up'''

'''And even though it seems like half the world away Things will be better in America Heard the streets are gold there'''

'''Maybe I could fly you out this place someday Chasing dreams like I'm on Novocain Screaming through your airways Looking back I almost thought I heard you say'''

'''Stay, you're not gonna leave me This place is right where you need to be And why your words gotta mean so much to them And they mean nothing to me'''

'''So stay, you're not what you're hearing Cause I've been watching you changing And who said you're one in a million Anyway?'''

'''Cause you see only what you want to Your tunnel vision haunts you And you can't see what's wrong'''

When you keep sleeping through the PM Eyes wide open when you're dreaming

'''You’re sleepwalking, just keep talking And maybe you can talk your way out of this deep end No B plan in your system'''

'''Just tell me what you're thinking I'm scared that you might fall'''

'''But you're not But you're not'''

'''And you'll feel better when you wake up Taking off your makeup Sun always seems to wash our fears away'''

'''And it's always shining somewhere I just gotta get there And even though it seems like half the world away'''

'''Things are better in America Heard the streets are gold there Maybe I could fly you out this place someday'''

'''Chasing dreams like I'm on Novocain Screaming through your airways Looking back I almost thought I heard you say'''

'''Stay, you're not gonna leave me This place is right where you need to be And why your words gotta mean so much to them? When they mean nothing to me'''

'''So stay, you're not what you're hearing Cause I've been watching you changing And who said you're one in a million'''

'''You’re so much better than that You’re so much better than that You’re so much better than that'''

'''Stay, you're not what you're hearing Cause I've been watching you changing And who said you're one in a million anyway?'''

And you'll feel better when you wake up Swear to God I'll make up Everything or more when I get back someday

'''Chasing dreams like I'm on Novocain Screaming through your airways Looking back I almost thought I heard you say'''

You're so much better than that