RP Log - May 26th and 27th
Cake and Wren - @ssweet-ascake
Kalei - @itwasakanonevent
Kalei wheeled up to the house with a huff. They'd taken their binder off due to the strange chest pain and how much effort they knew it was going to take to get here. It was a good call, judging by how much sweat was all over their body.
It was a nice house. Nicer than they expected for just a 25 year old and her little brother. Taking a deep breath in, Kalei raised their fist and knocked. Just the right amount of times. "Wren. It's Kalei."
Did Fia feel this anxious when she went to go pick up strangers? Probably, but... she always managed. Besides, Wren wasn't a stranger. Just a homicidal person who hated Kalei specifically.
...do it for Cake, Kalei. Do it for Cake.
The sounds coming from inside the house, more specifically loud and erratic breathing, ceased. Just for a few seconds, then it began again. There was no sign of footsteps coming closer to the door.
Kalei knocked again, the same number of times as they'd agreed upon. "Wren, it's me. Kalei. Right? I know you don't like me, but I want to help. I'm- I'm worried. Can you please open the door?"
Shit, what would they do if Wren just... didn't open the door? Leave? Cake was asleep, the blog said that, so calling him would do no good.
After a few seconds—or, perhaps it had it been minutes—the door unlocked. Wren didn't open it for them, though.
...alright. Don't hold it against them, Kalei. They sound unwell. "I'm going to open the door pretty wide, okay? Please don't let me hit you with it."
Kalei opened the door and pushed it open wide, so they could roll in with their chair. There was a small ramp that made rolling in the house very convenient. Probably installed for Cake's sake.
They glanced around, trying to spot Wren and anything else that seemed awry. While looking, they suddenly became aware that Wren had only ever seen them briefly in a video before. Their brown hair was messy, though cleaner than it had been in quite some time. A thick white streak stained their bangs, and some more white streaks were very lightly scattered throughout. Their grey eyes were extremely pale, and Kalei was very clearly underweight. Though, arguably, their most noticeable trait was the stump of a leg. They were wearing some sweatpants which had been knotted at the end so the fabric wouldn't dangle.
Clearing their throat, Kalei spoke up. "Hello. I... this is me. Like from the video." Way to be awkward about it.
Kalei had looked around and-
Did Wren just seriously hide? What kind of 25-year-old person does this?
Well, it did mention something about how that'd be "humiliating" on its reblog. Maybe she just felt shame over seeing the person they cyberbullied in real life, in front of her.
Kalei sighed. Heavily. What was it with them and having to interact with the people they couldn't get along with lately? "Wren.”
Were they better off just trying to find Ca- no. They weren't about to scare an already scared child. Big sibling figure or not, Kalei was still very much so in his house when the child was unaware. Finding Wren was their best option.
Or... just making them something? The food, they noticed, was now all placed at shoulder level or below when sitting in a chair. Not a single item was on the shelves, all of them having been cleared. Something twisted in Kalei's chest.
This wasn't somebody being petty, Kalei reminded themself. Wren was panicking, and it was scared, and it was trying to do what it could to protect itself and its brother. "Thank you for letting me in," Kalei said. They turned around and shut the door, then took a deep breath. "I'm going to start making some tea. Chamomile, if you have any."
The utensils were in weird places, it was obvious he hasn't had the time to organize everything with everything going on.
While they were preparing the tea, quiet footsteps got closer; Careful, scared. As if taking a wrong step could trigger...something.
"..You shouldn't have come here. I- I told you I was fine." Her voice was low, not as firm as it always seemed to be on text.
She had brown, curly hair that reached past her shoulder (albeit covering her right eye), the middle and tips of it colored cyan, no doubt self-made. It was unkept, like hands have been pulling and pushing at it recently. Their face held scars, now old; Just a few cuts here and there.
It was almost like a fighting stance. Or..running? It could definitely bolt at any time. It was tense, that was obvious.
This was not the psychotic bastard Kalei expected to see. This was... just a woman. Roughly their age, if Kalei had to guess. They relaxed their posture, even though it was almost certain that an underweight literature nerd in a wheelchair wasn't scaring anybody. "You did tell me you were fine," Kalei calmly said. "But I wanted to help anyway."
The water was the right temperature. (Kalei didn't ask how they knew that.) They dropped in the tea bags and set a timer on their phone, wincing at some of the asks they'd received. Those would be dealt with... later. The weird one about RAM would probably be mentioned tonight, but not yet. "Is Cake-" Saying the online moniker out loud was strange. "Is your brother alright?"
They avoided eye contact, favoring the floor instead. They looked paranoid, almost; scratchy and restless. Wren walked closer to Kalei, around the table, as if that'd make them safe. He hasn’t made tea in so long.
"Uh, I mean- ..No, not at all. They've been asleep ever since they started driving us here. That must've taken a toll on him." His voice was quiet, tainted with guilt. She knows what happened isn't something that she can just brush aside or distract her brother from.
"That-" It held onto the marble counter, its other hand coming up to its mouth. "...Pardon me, it's. It's a very bad image."
Kalei risked a glance at Wren. It was bent over as if she were about to vomit. They mixed the teabags and nodded, giving Wren a second to catch his breath.
Whatever they saw was bad. Somehow, somebody else gave them a ride home. That seemed incredibly out of character for Wren, which further led Kalei to believe that whatever happened was not just bad. It was horrific. Which, yes, they already knew, but... people can often dramatize on the internet. Not so readily online.
The tea was steeped long enough. With a fork, Kalei pulled the bags out, and removed the pot from the heat, turning the stove off. They glanced around and started opening cabinets just barely before shutting them, looking for mugs. "Two or three? If your brother wants any, I could prepare three. Otherwise, I could split it between just us both."
Asking about what happened right now was not a good idea. What mattered first was making Wren well enough to talk without getting ill.
Wren lifted up three fingers, they could just drop the tea off in his room. Cake liked chamomile tea, but with three spoons of sugar. Kalei did not know that.
"...he likes- Uh. I-I can make his. And my own,” it said, refusing to ask anything of its "dear Kalei" whom it despises.
Hm. A reasonable request. "I'm going to let these cool for two minutes. That usually brings them to a safe to drink temperature, in my experience. Then, I'll prepare mine, and you can prepare the both of yours."
Leaving the mugs behind, Kalei turned their chair around and wheeled in Wren's direction for half the spin of a wheel, before pausing and moving back to where they were previously. "Sorry, I'll keep a distance."
...now came the awkwardness they should have expected. Kalei pulled out their phone and swiped through, trying their best to seem busy. An ask from Eye? Perhaps they should answer that later (an ask seen days too late, leaving behind just a final declaration of death and hanging guilt) or maybe right now, while the tea was cooling.
Besides, Wren did not seem like it wanted to be stared at.
Once he felt eyes off him, he allowed himself to relax. Not placing their guard down—They cannot. They reached for the top cabinet, trying to find the sugar before remembering it was all by the counter, letting out a mumble that sounded like '..right.'
She put three spoons of sugar in the left mug, and only put one on her own.
Awkward silence, of course...Well, for Kalei at least. It's head was sputtering bullshit left and right, god can it's brain ever stop for one moment. How irritating.
A timer went off on Kalei's phone, but they muted it quickly. They seemed to be reading something repeatedly, brows furrowing.
"...Wren, I have a question. I want you to tell me if you are not ready to answer it yet," Kalei said carefully. This was a risk, but- "Who is Ellen?"
The spoon stopped stirring the tea, they flinched upon hearing the girl's name. She tensed again, looking around for an escape if she needed it.
"How- How do you know that name? You've never interacted."
Oh. It was sensitive. "I've received a few asks today. One of them mentioned you by name, and... it mentioned that name. I was wondering if the name was somebody I should've known."
The reaction was immediate as it was volatile, as well. God, what was up right now? Wren could be an anxious mess in real life for all Kalei knew, but this much panic and outburst over a name alone? Unsafe. "You do not have to explain right now. If you aren't ready, you can drink your tea."
Wren didn't move from their place. The name forces them to think about the kid, which forces the image in their mind to get clear again.
Too clear. The smell, the sound, the blood. Helpless, powerless, they did nothing for the girl and from all he knows, she might as well be dead. He felt both his breathing spiking up again, and the overwhelming desire to throw up everything inside her stomach.
It didn't take long for her to sprint out of the kitchen, probably towards the bathroom.
Kalei sat up quickly, head snapping towards the direction the other sprinted in. "Wren?" they called anxiously.
Pausing, they turned to type something in their phone. It took less than a minute before they were wheeling down the hallway, trying to see which room the other had sprinted to.
What the hell was going on?
As Kalei got closer to where Wren had run off to, struggle sounds were audible. Panicked breathing making way to desperate retching. Hell, were they even breathing properly?
It was getting pale, skin getting sticky. Not now, not when Kalei is here, that's just worse. What if they use this to their advantage? Not that it didn't deserve it, but they didn't want anybody seeing them like that.
Kalei paused outside the door. Barging in was a bad idea, but... Wren sounded like they were in a bad state. "Wren?" Kalei called nervously. "Wren, it's okay. We don't have to talk about E- what happened any more."
Fuck. They'd messed things up. Their own palms going sweaty, Kalei stammered. "I- I could go- I could go check on your brother. If you're okay with that. Or I could let you... um... finish up here? But I think you need to breathe."
She didn't give a coherent answer, just let out a sound that was more akin to those people make whenever they're either in pain or out of it. His knees slammed against the ground from how hard they were retching.
From between all the struggle, they whispered in a. Scarily small voice for someone so relentless:
"... 'm sorry. ssso sorry..."
Wren was definitely out of it. There did not exist a timeline where Wren would willingly apologize to Kalei. At all.
The sound was quiet enough to give her the illusion that Kalei didn't listen—If she noticed that left her mouth, anyway.
Oh. Oh god, this was- oh. Kalei suddenly felt very, very out of place. They were used to helping Fia and Kat now. They could gather the girls into their arms and ramble on about how much they matter to them, and it worked because they all trusted each other. But this? This was some stranger?
What was with Kalei and their sudden hero complex putting them in weird situations? They placed a hand on the door knob before lifting it away by an inch or so. "Wren? Can I come in there? I- You don't sound very good."
No shit, Kalei! God, they were being stupid! "And you don't need to be sorry, Wren. You've done nothing wrong." They fought to keep their voice level and comforting instead of more than slightly freaked out.
Its...situation appeared to be dying out, but it also could just be Wren getting weaker.
After a few quiet minutes, the toilet flushed and (what sounded like) the sink was turned on. He was probably cleaning his face. How humiliating, how humiliating, this cannot be happening to them.
A moment of hesitation, then the door opened. Fuck, they looked sick.
Kalei's face was pinched with concern, but no pity. No disgust. They backed up to give Wren some space, and said quietly, "I get sick when I'm stressed too. All the time."
Where do they even... start here? Kalei moved down the hallway and grabbed a mug of tea. They balanced it between their thighs and went back towards Wren, stopping before them and holding it up. "I think this one was yours," they said quietly. "Drink."
Wren looked at them...Well, more like through them, actually. She looked around, confused. Confused..?
She took a step forward, trying out her balance. Not good, it was swaying. Its vision didn't yet register that it wasn't standing up properly, and instead halfway through falling on its face.
Shit. "Wren!" Kalei shouted, at quite a full volume. They weren't sure if it would be worse if they tried to catch her and it went poorly or if they let him drop to the fl- who were they kidding? Kalei wheeled forward to try and at least slow their fall, using their hands to hold up Wren's shoulders.
Wren whispered another apology, their glasses falling off their face. They tried getting up but couldn't. This wasn't the first time they'd thrown up from..her. They forgot to eat again after they came home, stuck in a self-doubt, self-hatred loop. God, both Wren and Cake were undoubtedly siblings, even up to their awful habits.
She looked at Kalei, about the most vulnerable they'd ever seen her. Pathetic. His eyes closed, going limp.
“Wren!” Kalei shouted again. “Fuck!” The other person had slumped over, shoulders and head clumsily supported by Kalei’s head and the rest of their body limp on the ground.
With one hand, Kalei locked their wheels and used the other to usher Wren’s face onto their lap. Awkward as hell, sure, but they could deal with that once Wren was awake. “Wren,” Kalei said again. “Open your eyes.” They pressed their fingers against Wren’s neck to check for a pulse. Oh god.
With a quiet whine, the youngest sibling woke up. They felt exhausted still, too many emotions for one day. Too many things happening.
He stretched, debating whether or not to go back to sleep. Sleep was better than dealing with whatever they were dealing with. It was like death, but not permanent. How cool is that?
They were planning on going back to sleep, but he heard sounds down the hall. Not his sister's voice; In fact, whoever it is was talking to his sister.
He pulled himself up and in the wheelchair, wheeling closer to the door so he could hear the muffled voices.
They recognized the voice! Was that Kalei? Was Kalei here? He didn't bother wondering why they were here.
They opened the door, peeking out to see the hallway. The voice was clearer, that was indeed Kalei!! Finally, good news!! "Kaleiii!!" He called out, his mood slightly better than before.
Kalei’s head snapped up at the sound of Cake shouting. Shit. He was going to freak out if he saw that Wren had collapsed. “Cake,” Kalei breathed, sounding somewhere between relieved and worried. “Yes, it’s me. Hi. Can you stay back there for a second? Please, kiddo?”
Come on, Wren! Their pulse was weak and fast but persistent, which was good- it meant it was alive. Kalei shook her shoulder a bit sharper than they normally would have if not for the very anxious child who was most likely about to be scared out of his mind. “Wren, Cake’s awake,” Kalei muttered. “Come on…”
Stay here?... Why? Was everything okay? Why didn't Kalei want to see them?
"...Why? Did I do something wrong?"
Wren was still unresponsive.
“No! No, sweetheart, no,” Kalei stammered out. Fuck, they needed to get Wren somewhere safer. Was she heavy? Not very.
They hooked their hands under its armpits and lifted, managing to get Wren in their lap. They really wished they’d brought a crutch instead right now, but… ugh. They couldn’t bear to quiet her.
Moving like this wouldn’t be very plausible though, would it? With a frown, Kalei tried to think about how they could possibly situate things. After a few seconds, they started to shift to the side so Wren himself was more in the chair than Kalei. It was a sketchy business to do, but by leaning on the chair to keep balance (and nearly falling more than Kalei wanted to admit), they did manage to get themself standing upright and Wren in the chair.
Jesus. Kalei wheezed, one hand moving to grasp at their chest. Why were they this… nevermind. Taking in a deep breath, they grabbed the handlebars of the chair and unlocked the wheels. Time to… hop over to the couch. They guessed.
It was slow going, but Kalei managed. They took another minute or two to get Wren from the chair onto the couch, but they managed. With shaking arms and a sore chest, but they managed.
Carefully, Kalei arranged Wren so it seemed almost peaceful. A pillow below its head and the glasses removed and set on a nearby table. If Cake asks, Wren went to sleep.
Speaking of. Kalei went back into their chair and wheeled away from Wren and down the hallway. “Cake,” Kalei called. “You can come out now. Okay? I’m looking for you.”
Cake was back in his room, the door closed. Has Kalei made them upset?
Small sniffles came from the inside. This has never happened before, him being abandoned because someone likes his sister more.
That's selfish, isn't it? He should be glad they're happy. They should be happy she has a friend now, and she isn't lonely anymore. But he also didn't want to be alone.
Isn't he such a bad little brother?
Kalei rolled down the hallway, feeling more and more worried. Oh god, what if Cake was unwell, or-
They paused at the sound of tears. Oh. Oh no, Kalei messed up. They stopped in front of the door and said, “Cake? It’s me, Kalei. Can I open the door?”
Cake held back a sob, shaking his head as if Kalei could see him. He doesn't know what he was feeling: Guilt, selfishness, sadness, anger. Why does he never know what he feels? Is that not what it's supposed to happen? Were they born wrong? "N-No, go away!! I'm- I'm being bad, I don't deserve comfort!"
They stammered. What was he… oh god. This was normally when Wren comforted him, wasn’t it? Cake would leave the blog behind and go get their sister.
Not an option now. Kalei muted their phone (they were not leaving anytime soon, it seemed), and said “You aren’t being bad, kiddo. I want to see you. Can I please come in?”
Kalei dropped their tone to be gentle, quiet. They hadn’t had to talk like this in… years. Kat and Fia got softness, of course, but they never needed someone to act so paternal.
Cake insisted, tears slipping into his voice. "No, I am!! I'm upset because my sister's getting more attention than me and that's mean!! And- And I'm a bad friend because I left Ellen there and now-"
They didn't bring themselves to finish the sentence, breaking into loud cries once more.
Ah. Kalei paused to think through how to say this. Denying the meanness entirely wasn’t a good option, Cake wouldn’t believe it. “You’re a kid. Of course you want attention. You aren’t… old enough to handle whatever happened.”
Good start. “Wren was- tired. It was tired. I was just getting them to lay down. The only reason I helped and you didn’t is because they wanted to know someone would be awake with you.” Ohhhh, they were lying, but anything to make Cake not hate themself more. “Once I was here, they knew it would be okay. Because you trust me. Right?”
The child kept crying, although it died down a bit. They were looking at the door, wiping their eyes. "..I'm s-sorry. I-I don't know why I'm like this..!"
“You don’t need to be sorry,” Kalei said gently. So gently it hurt them to say. What a hypocrite they could be. “But can you open the door? I’m worried.”
The quiet sound of wheels against wooden floors was audible through the door, and Cake unlocked it. His face was red and their eyes were puffy.
He wishes he could just throw themselves at Kalei and hug them tight. "...s-sorry.."
Holy god. That was a small child. Kalei forced a comforting smile on their face and wheeled as close as they could get to Cake without hitting their chairs together. They opened their arms. “It’s okay,” Kalei said again. “Do you need a hug?”
They were getting oddly used to comforting people now. It wasn’t what Kalei thought their life would lead them to do after reading that play, but… they were more than willing to do it.
To Cake, Kalei seemed a bit tired, but otherwise pretty okay. Their missing leg is now clearly visible to Cake, though the sweatpants concealed the sight of any skin or scarring. Otherwise, Kalei looked like a more tired version of themself from the video they’d sent a couple weeks prior.
Cake nodded, reaching out. His legs were completely dead, it seems, given that he only moved above his hip. Dead weight.
The child hid his head on their neck, seemingly calmer now.
They wrapped him in a tight embrace, using one hand to keep his head tucked against their neck. “You’re okay,” Kalei said quietly. “It’s okay.”
For a minute or so, they let Cake stay there. Then, slowly, Kalei moved their head down to talk to Cake quietly. “I need to talk to you. Do you want to talk right here, do you want to lay back down, or do you want to go be with your sister? She’s probably still asleep, but she’d like your company anyway.”
Cake nodded, rubbing his eyes. "We can go to her...w-what do you want to know?"
“I gotta let go of you now, so we can go in there. She’s laying on the couch. You get comfortable, I’m going to get some tea I made earlier. Then I’ll go right back to you.”
Kalei peeled themself off Cake and wheeled out of his doorway, then down the hallway. They lifted Wren’s abandoned tea mug along the way. It could be microwaved back to being warm.
Once in the kitchen, Kalei quietly put Cake’s mug in the microwave along with their own. Thankfully they could stand with one leg to reach it easier.
Hopefully Cake would think Wren was just tired… and not that she’d collapsed.
Cake made his way into the living room, spotting his sister. They'd smile, seeing her asleep. She probably needs this, after..
They pulled Wren's blanket higher, covering it in case it'd feel cold during her sleep.
The tea finished. Very, very carefully, Kalei managed to keep the two mugs in their lap without spilling any. “It’s chamomile. Your sister made yours, so it should taste how you like it.”
They passed the proper mug to Cake before moving their chair to be more or less right in front of him.
…alright. Now comes the bad part. “Cake. Your sister seemed really… upset. Did something happen? She seemed particularly upset when I mentioned someone named Ellen.”
He grabbed the mug, simply holding it for a while; It was warm, they liked it.
Their gaze turns to them, his eyes big and sad...Eye, in this case. There was a burn covering the right side of his face, making that eye both unseeing and unmoving. It usually disturbed people.
"Ellen...She's my friend. Or..was? I- I hope she's okay. That mean lady said she had work to do, but- But she looked so scary, I don't know if she's gonna hurt her.." His voice was quiet now.
Kalei didn’t balk at the eye. Better not question it. (But matching burn scars on them both..?
Besides, the tears in the intact one were much more relevant right now. They reached forward and placed their hands on Cake’s shoulder. “You’re doing good.” This wasn’t how they expected to be using a psych degree. “Ellen’s your friend, yeah? How did you meet?”
The child took a sip from his tea, humming at the sweet taste. His sister always remembered stuff he liked even if they only mentioned a few times. They're so happy to have a sister like that.
Back at the question Kalei proposed to him, he tensed a bit; A bad habit of his whenever he's nervous. "She sent me an ask through Tumblr. She was like, really scared. I could tell she was. Computer stuff kept mixing with her text and I didn't really understand why...Well, now I do.." They shook their head, focusing on the question at hand and ignoring the deep sadness crawling up inside them. "We spoke for a bit and- and she sent her address..I-I know that's bad!!"
Wren mentioned something about a child and computers… and that odd anon made a joke about ram. This was all definitely referencing the same event. “Yes, it’s bad to send your address over tumblr, but she sounds like it was a bad situation. Is it okay if I look up her blog? So you don’t have to explain as much?”
Gently, Kalei squeezed Cake’s shoulders to keep his mind on the present moment. He was slipping. “I’ve got you, okay? You can wake up your sister if you need.” …Hopefully.
Cake saw what Wren looked like after the entire thing. In the car, it was scary: It wouldn't speak unless he sparked conversation, and just kept fixated on the front seat...He didn't believe she was looking at the seat, though.
They shook their head, denying their offer. ".. No. She needs rest, she- I can't make her hear about this again." The kid leaned into the touch, although it was short-lived. "Y-Yeah, you can-..You can look it up. It's uh..love dearest ellen, I think? I-" They sniffled again. "I didn't check it after last night.."
Oh, god. Cake was being protective. Of their sister. Who would never show anything concerning enough they’d feel a need to protect her if it were in his right mind.
Ruffling Cake’s hair, Kalei quickly typed “Love Dearest Ellen” into the search function on Cake’s blog until they found a blog to click. The two most recent posts were of her chatting with some anons, so she was at least alive. Kalei opened their mouth to relay this before pausing.
Horror curled deep in their gut. Kalei slid away from Cake and, shielding the screen from him, pressed play. The audio was nearly silent. “There’s a video,” Kalei breathed. “What is…”
They skipped forward past where the footage showed little but a shut door and two siblings mostly out of view before they went to the door. Wren reached for the handle, and let go. Then he grabbed it again.
Wren slowly opened the door, and Kalei audibly gasped.
Cake yelped at the gasp, trying to peek at what Kalei was watching. "Wha- What is it, what are you looking at??"
They immediately hid their phone fully against their chest, focusing first and foremost on making sure Cake did not see what they just saw.
Breathe. (Their ears were ringing a bit.) Breathe. (Wren and Cake saw this. Those weren’t special effects.) Breathe. (No wonder Wren couldn’t bear to hear the name.)
Breathe. (Wren had been shouting that it was just a child. She was right.)
Kalei took the phone and shoved it under their thigh so Cake couldn’t grab it before pulling him into a hug with a trembling grip. It shouldn’t scare them this much just to see it on video, but… god. They could know all too well the details of how the flesh was spread throughout that room.
They had Cake’s face pressed into their own throat again, and Kalei rested their cheek on his head. “Give me a minute,” they said, strained.
Cake stopped, tilting his head. They were confused, they didn't know what had happened to cause such a strong reaction in Kalei.
Despite that, though, he hugged them back, tightly; Wren did that and it usually helped. Cake didn't seem to be aware their nightmares had been caught on camera, or posted to his friend's blog. (And his own.) "...Are any of her posts sad? I- I can handle it.."
They cleared their throat to cover up a horrified choke. Sad post, no, more like something terrible. (Cake had already seen it, though.) “It’s- someone uploaded something really bad onto her page, Cake. Really scary. But I don’t think she saw it. She’s alive.”
Focus on the good part. They should pull out their phone and click off the video to get to where she had been replying to asks, but the idea of opening the video again made their stomach curl. What was worse- the sight itself, or the knowledge of the age of the victim and the witness?
The child gasped, pulling back to—just like his sister does—try and see if they were lying. Upon noticing they weren't, he lit up. "Sh- Ellen's- I- Alive?! She's alive?!!" Tears pooled at his eyes again, although this time wasn't from sadness.
Kalei nodded somewhat numbly, more than a little distracted. Then, their mind clicked- Cake thought she was dead? That made sense considering the… state of her…. But has something else happened? “Yes, she- she’s alive. She said she was afraid, and then watched some movies. She seems mostly alright. What… happened…” Kalei trailed off.
The boy smiled. Oh, Wren will be delighted to hear the news! They could go back and give her the drawing, and get her out and-
..No, they can't. That lady said to not come back. How mean. In truth, he didn't know whether he wanted to see her in real life again or not.
He looked up at the person taller than them, his happiness dimming a bit. "..What? Are..you okay, Kalei?"
Noticing the smile that had returned from Cake’s face, Kalei plastered on a smile and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I’m okay. I just wasn’t expecting to see… what I saw. But I’m okay.“
They ruffled his hair with one hand, hoping the gesture would be distracting from Kalei’s own distress. “I’m glad you’re alright, kiddo. You and Wren both.” Kalei threw a glance at Wren.
Cake brightened up again, moving closer to Kalei. As much as their wheelchairs allowed, anyway.
Then, he had an idea. "We both have wheelchairs, right? What if we..." He hesitated, to create suspense. "...decorate them! Mine is already decorated, Wren helps me put the doodles in here. But yours needs color too!"
They almost wanted to puke. Cake probably hadn’t understood what he’d seen entirely. Good. “I won’t keep this chair forever- I need a different kind, more like yours- but yes. You can give me tips so we- I can decorate my next one too.”
Kalei’s chair was often a subject skirted around back at home. It wasn’t avoided, per se, but it was more or less acknowledged only when strictly necessary. The idea of decorating it was silly, but… fun.
The child nodded, pointing at their room through the walls. "Me and Wren started with decorating my old wheelchair, back at..Uh. The other place." They mumbled, tensing ever the slightest bit.
He tried calming himself down, thinking of happy things. "..We drew the stickers with crayons and glued them on. S- So when I make new friends, I ask them to draw something so I can put it in my wheelchair..! Do you..uhm..wanna draw with me? Juuust for a bit, I wanna go rest with Wren!"
They nodded. Drawing and then resting sounded like the safest idea. “Yes, that sounds quite nice.”
He wheeled away to his room, chatting excitedly to himself while he went to get the art materials.
Kalei turned to Wren and shook her shoulder once, then a second time. “Wren. Wren, wake-“
Nausea overwhelmed them. Quickly, they made their way to the kitchen sink and stood on their leg before getting sick, thanking god that nothing had been in the sink. After spitting the rest out of their mouth, Kalei turned on the faucet to wash away the evidence and fell back into their chair.
Calm down, Kalei. Cake was fine. Wren would wake up soon. Hopefully. Is this where they should start panicking? It should’ve woken up by now. Shit. Kalei turned on their phone and- yep, that was Ellen- closed tumblr before typing out a quick text to their roommate and turning the phone off again. Okay. Fia could give advice, Kalei just had to… stay here. And act calm. Very calm.
They wiped their face clean and splashed some water on their face to cover any redness or tear marks. Then, Kalei moved back to where they’d been before.
Wren didn't move, their pulse didn't change; Still weak, still fast, still consistent. Just as if she was sleeping. It looked so peaceful, contrary to when it first let Kalei in.
Cake wheeled back into the living room, a box of crayons in his lap and papers in his hand. Drawings with their favorite person, how calming. "I got the crayons, big sib- Uh..K-Kalei!!"
Kalei checked their phone quickly, brows furrowing before smoothing. “Give me just a second.” They manhandled Wren (gently) into the described recovery position. A bit extreme, yes, but…
Yes. It’s still breathing. Quickly, Kalei set a twenty minute timer. If that goes off and Wren still refuses to wake, they go to the ER.
“Alright,” Kalei said brightly. “Let’s do this.”
Cake tilts his head, confused..Scared. "Wh..What are you doing to them?"
Shit. “They weren’t feeling great when it went to sleep,” Kalei said smoothly. “If they lay down like this, she’ll feel better sooner.”
He looked Kalei over before putting down their art materials. They wheeled a little closer, still carrying fear in his eyes. "..Is she okay?"
A long pause. Then, “I think so. I’m being extra cautious, but look. They’re breathing. See?”
Kalei pointed to the rise and fall of Wren’s chest.
“And if you feel… here. If you think he wouldn’t mind, if you take his wrist I can show you how to feel a pulse.”
Cake looked at Kalei with a puzzled, albeit terrified, expression. They grabbed his sister's wrist, just as instructed. "I- I thought they were just asleep, w-what's happening..?"
Kalei, with gentle fingers, moved Cake’s fingertips so they could feel Wren’s heartbeat. “She is just sleeping. But her body is very tired. So, I’m keeping a close eye on him. It got very sleepy very fast.”
They pressed Cake’s fingers a touch more firmly into the pulse. “Do you feel that? It’s Wren’s heartbeat. As long as you feel that, they’re okay. It can be hard to find sometimes, but it’s right there.”
Cake rubbed his eyes, trying to pay attention to what Kalei was doing. This felt important, knowing how to feel heartbeats is important. "It's..slow. That means she's calm, right?"
“Let me feel. I want to feel and make sure so I know I’m telling you the truth.” It pained Kalei to play hero after knowingly withholding information. “You deserve the truth.” Hypocrite. Hypocrite.
He nodded, letting Kalei get a hold of his sister's arm. They seemed amicable now, that's good. "Wren likes the truth." They'd say, almost like telling a fun fact. "Uhm..How is she?"
The heartbeat was stronger than earlier. Calm. “He’s good,” Kalei said truthfully. “Just needs sleep.”
Settling Wren back down, they turn to Cake. “Want to color now?” Kalei asked.
Cake tilted his head, looking at both Kalei and their sister. He was worried now, but a distraction always helped..Usually.
They nodded, grabbing the crayons and papers from the floor, placing them on the closest table. "Y-Yeah..!"
Kalei rolled to the table and picked up a crayon, pondering what to draw.
…they ignored the first five things their brain suggested and opted to draw Cake and Wren in a flower field. It was nice to focus on getting facial features and perspective correct instead of… well, real things.
Kalei had forgotten they were decent at drawing. They hardly had time for it.
The youngest had decided on drawing all three in space, with astronaut hats and stars all around.
He seemed to be having fun.
Kalei drew with Cake until the child had fallen asleep slumped over the table, crayons still clutched in his hands. It was an awkward process to get them to their bed, but they were able to hitch a ride in Kalei's lap on the chair. Kalei tucked the child in before moving his wheelchair back to be next to his bed for when they woke.
The rest of the day and all of the next was spent picking things up around the house and baking sweets and cooking meals, stopping to draw or chat every now and then. When Wren finally woke, both Cake and Kalei greeted them warmly but cautiously. Only one of them got an equally warm reply.
That was fine, Kalei thought as they finished their goodbyes with Cake (tearful) and Wren (painfully mild). They didn't need Wren to like them- god knew it never would. All Kalei needed was for their friend(s?) to be alright.
It was seeming like they probably would be.
...that didn't explain Ellen, of course, but Kalei could look into that some other time. Far, far from young eyes.
