Work Text:
She placed her hand on the coat of Max, intertwining her fingers in his coat. He placed his snout on her knee, a source of comfort and grounding. The night has been rough. August’s comm was switched off and to the side, sitting on the wooden frame beside her bed. The letter sat in her palm, closed, yet those words that were etched in ink seemed to speak to her.
She ran her finger over the broken sunflower wax seal, two green ribbons connected as stems. The signature seal used for the deer, most commonly by the bee she used to call her own. She had cried enough tears for the night, but the lump remained in her throat. Her heart still ached, yearning for the touch of the bee once more.
The words still rotated within August’s mind. Sunny’s dead. I’m sorry. She swallowed hard, her grip not loosening or tightening around anything. She calmed her breathing, listening to her pulse in her ears. Her mind had no thoughts, or at least nothing worth noting. She just listened.
Listened to the hushed breaths of Max, the soft noises of the cats, of Pumpkin approaching and laying in August’s lap. The purring that followed, the soft breeze rustling the leaves outside, the night birds chirping. She listened to the small waves crashing against the shore of the lake and the rocks, the horses, the pigs, the cows. It sounded like home.
But it didn’t feel like home.
Not without Sunny.
Not without the sunbee she considered home. She had refused to let people see her when she was crying. May was outside in the cove connecting to the lake, Kai and Ollie were up in their tower, and Nugget was back at her house.
August picked Pumpkin up off her lap, setting her to the side. August’s grip tightened enough to keep a hold on the folded letter, and she made her way outside, gliding in the clear night. The sound of clambering paws followed after her, and softer thumps of Pumpkin. She let the door stay open, and the cool breeze in the spring weather greeted her like a gentle embrace.
She let it flow through her hair, standing by the shore of the lake. Her gaze drifted over the view, the reflection of the sky on the broken water, the lights on the other side of the lake. She focused on the sky, turning her gaze to view it properly. She craned her neck, admiring the view she saw.
The Milky Way Galaxy shone bright, and stars littered the sky. Each one twinkling in their own light, covering the sheet of darkness they lived in. Small footsteps approached from behind, and August ripped her gaze from the sky to see who it was. The small deer cryptid approached, keeping the solemn silence.
She showed no smile, yet August still gave one. May’s eyes glistened with care, concerned for the happiness of August. She’s always been like that, caring so much about August, more than she ever anticipated.
May stood at August’s side, and she placed a hand on the farther shoulder of the child. The two looked up at the sky, watching the stars in the night. “I’m going to miss Sunny.” May broke the silence, and her voice, gentle and sweet, stuck in the air between them. “I assume you’ll feel the same?”
August smiled, nodding slightly. The name being said by someone else pulled a string in her heart, regaining the ache it had passed. This time, it wasn’t as violent. “Yeah, yeah I will.” Her voice choked a little, cracking with the emotion she held back.
August swallowed the lump in her throat to the best of her ability, taking in a deep breath. “I’m gonna miss her big time.” August let her hand drop from May’s shoulder, to which the young deer took it to hold the hand, squeezing it as a form of comfort.
May leaned against August’s side, and the two lifted their gaze to the night sky. “You know, there’s a tale I’ve been told my whole life about the stars.” August started, her voice nothing but a soothing song in the wind. May let out a small hum of interest, though no words formed. “The stars in the sky are those who’ve passed before us. Ancestors, strangers. They’re all up there, watching us.”
August pointed to a few stars, and let her eyes wander the sky once again. May followed, observing silently. “Ever since I was little, from the day I escaped the lab, I would look up at the stars on a clear night. I’d look up, and I’d find the stars of my parents, my sister, my friends.” August let silence meet that, a soft smile forming on her lips in memory. “I would feel calmer each time I did it, allowing myself to realise I can meet them there one day.”
More silence met the two, but it was calm. Something about the silence around May was always comforting for August, no matter what. “I’ve always found solace in stargazing.” May said, not tearing her gaze from the stars. “It’s soothing, a way you can talk about anything and not be judged.” More silence met the two, a comfortable pause. “No matter how lonely you may be, the stars will always be there for you.”
August smiled down to May, squeezing her hand a little. “You’re awfully smart for a 10 year old, May.” She hummed, nodding a little at the statement. “I learn through observation, it's the effect of it that I gain all my knowledge.” The young cryptid said, voice ringing out into the night.
August couldn’t help but smile, a soft one with the current situation. “C’mon. It’s late, let’s get you into bed for the night.” She said, tugging on May’s hand slightly as she turned to walk back to the house.
“At least the bee got to see her sixteenth birthday.” May said, following after August obediently. The bee plush Sunny gave her in May’s hands reminded her of the older cryptid, someone she wished she had met before everything had gone to rubble.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t meet Sunny before everything went down.” August said, sitting beside May’s bed and tucking the young child in. “Don’t be sorry. You can’t control it, and you’ll beat yourself up thinking you could’ve.” She responded, clutching onto the bee a little more. August forced a smile, stroking May’s hair before cupping her cheek.
She leant down, planting a small kiss on May’s forehead. “Sleep well, Fawn.” She said, to which May returned with a smile and a small hum. She stayed beside the young deer for a little while longer, merely watching, observing. Her gaze turned out the window, to the stars in the sky.
She watched them, watched as they twinkled in the distance, how they glowed with their own light, their own beauty. It was mesmerizing, allowing August’s mind to finally drift. To which, she let it.
She had been so fearful about letting it go, about staying in reality, that she had too much in her own mind. She barely even slept right from it, mainly just staying up and doing absent tasks in the gardens or farms.
But this time, she let it wander.
And she wasn’t afraid of where it’d go.
Of the outcome it would have on her.
Of who would show up.
Of what would show up.
She just…let it.
And it led her back to Sunny.