Heavy raindrops pattered on the window. Dark, rhythmic, wet and cold. The kind of sound that could drag you into your own conscience without you knowing; leaving the outside world for someone else to figure out.
Luminous eyes the color of a golden moon watched the trails of water run down the glass panes as claws that looked like pearls traced the grain in the window sill. An involuntary shiver ran under the snow leopard cub's skin, inducing her fur to stand up on end against the damp cold. She wanted nothing more than to be back in the warm countryside with her mother and uncle, with the familiar sounds of songbirds nesting in the hayfields, the smell of overly-ripe peaches in the summer sun as bumble bees hummed under the branches. She could just make herself imagine, as soon as she could block out the sound of the cold, dark and wet night, that she was back on the farm and her mother was calling her in for supper.
But the drear of the storm hung over her and pinned her wandering mind down like a naughty kitten that had run a stray too far from home. From reality. And reality told her that she was in the Rainforest district with her sister, in a dark and dingy apartment that made her feel dirty, inside and out.
They were both going to boarding school in the nearby city that she hated so much she had already made herself forget the name.
'To become teachers', Mother had said. Cheryl's mind had one response to this idea. What if I don't want to be a teacher?, she had asked herself in her own mind, over and over again until she couldn't think of anything else.
But not once in her life had she voiced her concern out loud. Her uncle had been like a father to her since her real dad died and he had raised her to be a good, obedient little girl. And she always hated to disappoint him, so here she was, doing something that she was dreading more than anything else in the world.
The doorknob jiggled and familiar paw steps entered the dark room. Cheryl met the ice blue eyes of her older sister, Siobhan, as she approached the window seat. Cheryl's seven year old mind told her that her sister was tired, but she didn't want to ask about it because it usually made Siobhan snap at her.
The twenty five year old snow leopardess sat down beside the cub and tried not to sigh as she looked at her.
"Did mother call?"
Cheryl shook her head no quietly.
They sat in silence for a few moments, save for the constant thrumming of rain on the windows.
"Why did we have to come here?", the young cub asked suddenly. The older leopardess rolled her eyes tiredly.
"Cheryl Lee, you know why we had to come here; you've been told a thousand times."
The downy grey fur on the cub's brow wrinkled as she looked up at the dark eyes of her sister. "Mother said it was because we couldn't get an edu-education at home."
Siobhan nodded. "Right. She wants us to get good jobs so that we have enough money to buy our own homes in the city and start families one day."
"But we have a family", the small cub argued vehemently. "We have Mother and Uncle Grayson. And I miss the farm, I want to go back."
Siobhan's eyes flashed for a second as she swiftly stood. "Well, we can't go back! We have to stay here and do what Mother told us because it's for the best! Okay?!" Her heart throbbed as she realized she had been yelling and she tried to reach for the cowering cub in the corner.
"Cheryl, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I'm just tired."
Luminous gold eyes looked up to meet hers, distrust showing through behind the tears that soaked her eyelashes.
"Please", the older snow leopardess pleaded, shifting towards her little sister. "Forgive me, Cher. I-I'm s-sorry. Sorry for everything."
Siobhan let her head drop, staring at her paws in her lap until they became blurry through the tears in her own eyes. She blinked when she felt a small, velvety paw on her forearm, tears pouring out on to her cheeks and clinging to her whiskers.
"It's okay, Siobhan. I know you miss Mother, right?" The small cub nuzzled against her sister's arm as she looked up into the uncertain ice blue eyes looking down at her.
Siobhan blinked as she tried to think of a response appropriate to tell a seven-year-old. "Y-yes, Cheryl. I miss Mother a lot, but what she wants is for us to have a better future. And if that means being away from her, then so be it. You understand, don't you?"
Cheryl nodded sleepily against her sister's arm, tears drying on her cheeks. "I miss Uncle Grayson", the small cub yawned. "Can we visit them soon?"
Siobhan looked out the window at the inky black that was the rain clouds pouring down on them and sighed. "Yes, Cheryl, we can go visit one day."