Inktober 2024 - 13 - Horizon

"What do you see?"

"Not much. Birds, boats… Is that a dolphin?"

"What kind of boats?"

"I don't know. Small ones. Maybe for fishing. Not the type that could be a threat to us. Obviously…"

Clearly, he WOULD say something if he was seeing anything of interest. His sister knows that, doesn't she?

"It's been days."

"I am aware; I've been right here waiting alongside you."

"They should have been back, by now."

"Well, they're not."

Lowering his hand from his brow, where it was shielding his eyes from the Sun, Reyld tears his gaze away from the line where the sky meets the ocean, far ahead. It doesn't really matter whether he is staring or not. That's not going to make his other sisters come back faster. They'll get here whether or not there is anyone waiting for them. He was just doing it out of habit.

"What are we going to do if they don't come back?"

"They're gonna come back!" snaps Reyld.

"Yeah, but what would we do if they didn't come back?"

"Why are you thinking about this?"

"Because we should have a plan."

"What do you know of plans? You're a child."

"I won't always be."

"Well, you are for now, so don't worry about such things."

"So you're telling me you know what you'll do if they don't come back, then?"

"I guess."

"And you won't tell me?"

"What good would it do, since they are coming back?"

"I think you have no idea what we're going to do."

Reyld sighs. That's what he gets for being the youngest adult in the colony: he's left behind to do the babysitting while the rest go out in search of survivors. Please let them have found survivors…

"I'll keep taking care of you, for starters."

"And then? Once I'm grown up and I can hunt and defend myself, what then?"

"Even if they don't come back – which they will – others might come. So we'll keep watch."

"What about going out ourselves to look for others?"

"And leave the Stronghold unattended? How would that help? What's the point of finding others if we don't have anywhere to bring them back to?"

"What if they have a place?"

"There is no other place like here."

"How do you know for sure? You've never been out."

"I have, actually."

The memory of his one and only trip away from home chills Reyld to the core. He shivers, and does his best to hide it so his sister doesn't notice. Splashing his tail on the surface to spray warm water on himself, pretending to do so out of boredom, he pushes the violent images back. Their kind has been chased to the end of the world. How could this not be their last settlement? And even if it isn't, they cannot afford to lose it. He appreciates his sister's optimism, but the sad truth is, he doesn't see much prosperity in their future.