Mable: Here's the next chapter! I hope you Enjoy!
Fabric Runs Shallow
Chapter Fifty-Five: The Twins' Prediction
The first day of walking to Paris was rather uneventful. It was a cool day and was rather overcast, enough so that it was rather unnerving. The twins seemed to be eyeing the sky as expecting something coming as they clung upon one another and onto their mates in desperation. Occasionally they looked to Six as well to see if he showed any sign of being concerned. Six, however, seemed to keep staring ahead in a daze, stumbling along wearily. Finally Three seemed to become concerned and tapped on Five's arm before gesturing over to the male.
Five was also worried as being the Healer he recognized the obvious aliment. He was surprised Eight hadn't noticed, but he had taken over carrying some of the tents and luggage with Cat, None, and Nine. Six was starting to fall into the back when Five approached, "Six, are you okay?" The striped one looked to him wearily and he was stopped. "Two." Five spoke out to drag his mentor into the mix. Six tried to shake his head, but Two came over too quickly and began to look him over. "Is something the matter, Six? Are you feeling overheated?"
The striped one shook his head again and Two felt his head just in case. "Two, no, I'm okay…" The Artist was beginning to slur his words a bit and the short male hummed. "I think you should rest. Here, we can stop for a while." This was when the problem emerged. As Two turned to say something to Five and Six took only a second to stop walking he realized that he was twitching again. These twitches were getting worse and his head was still throbbing. He couldn't stand these full body tweaks that drug his limbs and body through a loop.
"Six?" Velvet asked quietly as she wandered over. Before she could add anything Six blurted out, "I can't stop. I have to keep going." She looked alarmed and both of the previous Stitchpunks looked back to him. "But Six…" Two protested quietly before Six started to walk ahead, "It's alright. You don't have to worry." The three still did and Two sighed before looking to Velvet, "Keep an eye on him, please." She hurried ahead and Two exhaled tiredly before reaching back to pat the pack on his back where Twelve slept. Twenty-One was being carried by Julius as he had stopped wanting to walk only a few minutes into the trek.
The walking still continued until dark when One insisted that they set up camp. The Stitchpunks were exhausted and only barely managed to set up their tents. "How much longer until we get there?" Velvet asked wearily as she sat down next to Six on a blanket that had been spread out. The striped one had immediately toppled over onto his side. She reached out and patted his head tentatively as to comfort him while Seven exited the tent propped up behind them. "It will be a while longer, but we made pretty good time." She smiled a little to the female, "You can stay with me tonight."
Now it was Cat who looked back and spoke, "But Dove, what about me?" He beamed one of his normal, confidence dripping smiles, and Seven gave him her own look of playfulness. "You can share with Child. It's not like you two haven't before." The male groaned and laid back on the dirt before the fire, "And get stuck listening to him and Nine play 'pull the zipper' all night? I'll just stay out here." Three and Four looked to each other in concern before Three took leadership and began to point upwards towards the sky repeatedly. "I'm fine with some rain." Cat insisted.
Now Julius approached with another blanket. "At least take this. We don't want you catching your death." He unraveled it and cast it over the Beast turned Stitchpunk who smiled in return, "Thanks Dad." Now Velvet blurted in again, "Speaking of catching such- Six doesn't look too well." The Artist curled further into himself. "I'm okay." He insisted, folding the blanket to block his view of the bright fire. "Yeah, yeah." Eight blurted in, crossing over and kneeling down, "You're getting some sleep, alright? Come on." He scooped him into his grasp before carrying him to the large tent beside One's.
With him now gone, Seven moved to sit between Velvet and Cat, looking at the others. Eight went in with Six, Nine and Child were being affectionate while somewhat speaking with Two, None, and Five who were in a conversation, the twins listening in the area, Julius was busying himself, and One was holding onto Twelve and Twenty-One, the latter who had been caught playing in some soft clay and was promptly scooped up close. There was a content feeling that spread over the female, like everything was alright, and she allowed herself to relax.
By the next day that feeling had subsided in one morning alone. Seven firstly awoke in her tent and immediately had an uneasy feeling. She noticed it was remarkably dark for being morning and sat upwards quickly. Velvet was still asleep on the other side of the tent and Seven decided to head out and check on the others. The second she pushed open the entrance she was faced with Cat who was curled up in front of the tent. Seven smiled a bit before kneeling down beside him and leaning over his frame. She lowered herself before pressing her lips to the male's cheek, sliding his helmet up.
Seven wasn't exactly one to find things cute, or to be soft enough to think of something as cute, but there was something about him being curled into a ball while clutching the blanket over him. She gave a soft pet over the back of his neck and he began to awaken, beginning to purr as his optics slowly opened. She leaned down to put a kiss on his neck where she was petting and was rewarded with him rolling over and scooping an arm around her frame, nuzzling into her. It was only then that she briefly looked upwards and suddenly her attention was directed straight towards the sky.
"That can't… Look at that." She pointed out as she looked at the spreading sky above, thick with dark clouds. "That doesn't look good." Cat remarked and Seven huffed, "That looks like what the twins were looking forward to." She went to stand, "I'll be right back. I need to see One." Before she could stand he put his arms around her frame, holding onto her tightly. "That can wait, Dove, you'll just get in a fight and be in a bad mood." The Warrior exhaled and calmed down a bit, "I'm not going to fight, I'm just going to tell. That's all."
Finally he released her with a final nuzzle, "Just hurry back or I'll have to do the unthinkable… I'll go get my warmth from Nine and Child." Seven nudged him a bit with her foot before wandering over towards the large tent that was One and Two's. She could hear soft talking inside and spoke softly. "One?" There was a pause before eventually some footsteps and the door opened, revealing the older leader. He looked slightly tired and Seven decided to be completely passive. "The storm's moving in." One blinked briefly in confusion before looking up towards the sky.
It was clear from the widening optics that the meaning set in. She decided not to say a word more and watched as he rubbed his temples tiredly, "Of course… It wasn't even Six…" He then looked to her, "Help me wake the others. We need to keep moving and find proper shelter." He was then interrupted by the soft babbling of a small baby from inside the tent. He nodded to the Warrior before heading in to address the Stitchpup. Relieved that it didn't become a confrontation and that One realized his mistake, she turned back and headed over to the tent where Velvet had appeared and was talking to Cat.
"I'm not sure. You might want to ask her." Cat mentioned casually and Seven felt a second of curiosity before wandering up, "Ask who what?" The male rolled onto his back again to face her. "Ask you this." He turned to Velvet and the female blurted out, "All the candles were put out before the Library before we left, right?" The pale female was surprised at the direct question and sat down beside Cat who sat up and put an arm around her. "I think so. Why do you ask?" She smiled and the other female looked a little embarrassed, "Just was thinking about it. Maybe I'm just a little skittish today."
"No, it's right to be concerned." The female insists, "But I'm positive that they were put out. We left so early that I doubt many of them were even lit." Now Cat broke in, "Wouldn't they just put themselves out? The flame would drown in the wet wax." The female raised a brow, "I don't think that happens frequently, but I suppose it could." Before she could continue, Velvet's optics flicked to one of the other tents. "Oh! Nine and Five are awake!" She perked before going to stand, "I'm going to go say 'morning' to them." She then hurried off and Seven leaned against Cat.
"Everyone's going to be awake soon. We need to get raining before…" She cut off as Cat moved to begin kissing her shoulder, "I love when you leave your helmet off, Dove." The female inhaled sharply at the revelation, "I forgot. I got distracted by the storm." She glanced through the opening of the tent and could see hers resting inside. The only reason it really mattered was because they were out in the Emptiness with a storm brewing. She went to wiggle out of Cat's grasp, but he refused to budge. "Leave it off. You're too pretty to cover yourself." He enticed.
She felt a small smirk appear and reached back before beginning to slip his helmet off of his head. "If I'm bare then you're bare." She taunted before pulling his helmet free, he groaning a little bit before burrowing his head against her shoulder. "I had a feeling you were going to say that." He still smiled a bit though as she cradled his helmet into her lap. Barely noticing the small raindrop hitting it.
Eight had just awoken and was already concerned with Six's behavior of the day. The male was already looking exhausted as he drug himself out of the tent. "Six?" Eight called after him and the smaller male peeked back in, his mismatched optics slightly unfocused, "Eight?" The larger male felt awkward and shifted a bit as he sat up, his head brushing the tent's roof. "You're looking a little strained. Did you get any sleep last night?" The Artist shrugged and shivered, "A little." Honestly the twitches were keeping him awake and he just didn't want to say it.
He then crawled out of the tent the rest of the way and Eight exhaled to himself before following. He wasn't oblivious, he knew something strange was going on, and part of him considered going to One for advice. Though One wouldn't be discreet about it and eventually everyone would figure out and be barging in. That clearly would upset Six the most. Suddenly there were footsteps outside of the tent, "Eight, we need to make haste." One called into the tent, Eight found his arrival ironic since he was just thinking about him. Eight climbed out and looked to One in confusion.
Now One decided to explain further, "Unfortunately it seems that the twins know of weather." He explained with an exhale, "There's something rolling in and we don't want to be out in the open for it." Eight understood and promptly began to help take down the tents with the others.
It was quite a while later when One finally realized that he had made a mistake. Right about the time that a downpour of rain was coming upon them. Unfortunately now they were going through the forested area and couldn't find much shelter other than the trees. Yet even in the rain the Stitchpunks were in awe and joy. "Look at the leaves!" None pointed out with an eager smile at the flashes of orange, yellow, and red through the branches. The twins were especially eager; Three clasped her hands together and looked to Five before pointing upwards.
The one eyed male was smiled, "It's amazing! How long do they stay like this again?" Three did some hand gestures to show that they lasted for the entire season. The Stitchpunks weren't completely unfamiliar with changing leaves, but this was the first time they had seen so many. Though there was a chance that Five just asked simply so that Three would explain. Four, meanwhile, was walking with None, holding his hand affectionately. Seven was walking towards the front with Velvet following her, helmet and hood attempting to block the rain.
Two was the one walking closest to One, with Twelve in her pack and Twenty-One running around at his feet, hopping into the small puddles. Usually the Leader would point out that Twenty-One could catch a fever, but Two seemed to be watching him well enough. The older male exhaled wearily; he knew he made a mistake, but even if he had believed the twins he would have come out here, for Two's sake. He put an arm around the shorter male, brushing the pack where his Stitchpup reacted with a quiver. "So the twins were right about the weather."
"That they were." Two murmured, impressed by the realization, "I will have to ask them how they were able to figure it out a few days in advance. That could be very useful in the future." Yet One was disturbed still and exhaled. "I'll be right back, Darling." The daytime pet name caught Two's attention and warmth filled his cheeks as One went ahead, Twenty-One following at his feet. "Daddy!" He called upwards before offering his hand. One had to bend over a bit, but took his small hand as he continued along towards the others. Once in hearing range he announced.
"Three and Four may I speak to you both for a moment?" The twins seemed to be surprised, but hurried over to the older male's side where he then led them back a bit before announcing, "We'll stop here for a few minutes." Now Child interrupted, "Yes, let's stop under the one tree with barely any leaves, just in case we weren't soaked already." The older male huffed, "If it's that much of an inconvenience then you can wander under one of the other trees. You don't need me to tell you that much." With that he guided the two, and Twenty-One who happily followed his parent, off to the side.
"Girls," He began softly, "I would like to deeply apologize for not believing you sooner about the weather. I see now that it was a mistake." It seemed so much easier to apologize to Stitchpunks that wouldn't remark back and he continued, "But I am in a position of my own. I brought us out here for a specific reason. Family bonding, if you will, and unfortunately we only had time to come out here now. We can never plan for the future, too many incidents befall before we can stop them." Both of the twins nodded in understanding at the statement.
"I'm not sure how you predicted this, but I am astonished that you could, and if you could do so more in the future then we could use that to our advantage. To plan our future out slightly better, if you follow. However, we cannot turn back now. Do you think this will get worst?" Three looked upwards at the sky worriedly while Four nodded in explanation. This triggered another pang of disappointment from One. "Well then there's not much we can do except hurry to Paris and hope that the Cathedral will hold us."
At this moment the twins looked to each other and for a second they had the same feeling of dread. If the weather did get much worse there was a chance that the Cathedral wouldn't hold them and they knew this. They would have to figure out a safer shelter between the two of them. Now they looked to One and simply nodded; there wasn't much else they could do or say. "For now," One began, "We will continue moving, just as soon as the others have rested." He glanced down at Twenty-One who was standing directly in a mud puddle, squishing his feet in it and smiling in amusement at the action.
"Just as soon as someone gets bathed." One gave a small smile in amusement, relief coming directly from the frisky behavior of his young son. Quickly he started to lead him back to the others, Twenty-One hopping most of the way to get a few more moments of play in. The twins also were endeared, but concerned. Four asked Three if a Cathedral was enough to hold back a Tornado, if the winds continued to pick up. Three said she wasn't sure, but that the damaged structure couldn't take much more damage. None of the buildings could take a beating from the wind.
Four nodded in agreement and reminded Three of the 'Wizard of Oz' and how it possibly could lift a house, playfully adding that they may go to Oz. Though they both had a feeling that this wouldn't be the case. Four then added in that it would be most likely that they would get stuck going in the other direction. Three shivered as she realized her twin was right. Instead of riding the wind to Oz they would have to go under the city streets to be safe.
They would have to go into the Catacombs.
Mable: So Cat is officially calling Julius 'Dad' as well. XD It was coming, but then again Julius would be a good father for anyone, especially for a Cat Beast turned Stitchpunk. Anyway, the next chapter will be posted tomorrow, I hope everyone enjoyed!
