Prompt: "Did you expect her to stay?"

Cohort: Three

Words: 1567

Written for the Camp Jupiter writing forum.

"Bianca! Look! There's a nest outside our window! With baby birds!" Pressing his face against the window, seven year old Nico gaped as he looked at a robin's nest.

Bianca peered over his shoulder, looking suspiciously at the four balls of fluffy feathers sitting innocently in the nest, mouths opening wide occasionally. Loud chirps broke through the normally quiet morning, sounding quite annoying to Bianca but delightful to Nico. "No time, Nico. We'll be late. Come on, now."

"But I don't wanna go! Westover Hall is the worst," Nico whined in protest as Bianca brought him out of their dorm.

"It'll be there when we get back," Bianca assured him gently. Cheering at this, Nico led the way to Westover Hall, more happy now.

Following, Bianca sighed silently. Being the older, responsible sister got tiring after a while. She loved Nico, but she wished there was more to her life than looking after him. But she wouldn't tell him that. It was not a burden for a seven year old to carry, he was too young.

"Bianca! Hurry up," Nico called. Snapping out of her thoughts, Bianca hurried to catch up. It would not do to be late at Westover Hall.

"They're still here!" Nico cried out. "And there's a bigger bird too."

Bianca looked up from her homework, furrowing her brow. She liked to do her homework in peace, but with an energetic little brother around, it wasn't always possible. "Nico," she said gently. "That's very cool, but how about we do our homework now?"

Pouting, Nico looked at Bianca pleadingly. "But the birds are so cute!" he said.

Resisting the urge to slam her head against the table, Bianca told herself at least it wasn't as bad as his pirate obsession. Anything, and she meant anything was better than the constant stream of "Arghhh!", "Landlubber!", and other 'pirate lingo' as Nico had called it. It had given her quite the headache, and she was glad his pirate obsession had faded… even if it was only a little bit.

"How about you do your homework near the window?" Bianca tried, standing up and pushing the table closer to the window. "That way you can watch and do your homework."

Brightening, Nico plopped down on a chair and picked up his pencil. Running a hand through her hair, Bianca smiled gently at him. However tiresome it was, being the older sister, it was worth it to see Nico smile.

After a while, Nico dropped his pencil and crawled onto the table, fixated on the bird's nest.

"Did you finish your homework?" Bianca asked, looking at the worksheets scattered across the table. The writing was hasty, scribbled quickly in hopes of completing the work faster. Most likely Nico hadn't done a very good job with his homework, but she decided to let it slide today.

"Yes, Bianca," Nico said slowly, making his annoyance clear. "I did it all. Much faster than you, by the way. And now I can watch the bird!"

Bianca wasn't going to bring up the fact that she had more homework that was also harder, and that she took time to check her work and do a good job. It was tempting to say so, but she let Nico have his fun. Westover Hall wasn't known for its joyful, happy experience after all.

"Wait! No!" Nico suddenly yelled. "Biancaaaa!"

Looking over, Bianca frowned and put down her pencil. "What is it, Nico?"

"The momma bird left," he whimpered. "She left the baby birds all by themselves. ALONE."

"Nico," Bianca said, sighing. "She probably left to go get food. You know, so the baby birds don't starve to death."

Opening his mouth in an O shape, Nico turned back to the nest. "Okaaay," he sang, happy again. "But what's 'starve' again? I forgot."

Shaking her head, Bianca dutifully told Nico what starve meant. She wondered how long this would last. How long Nico would stay this way - childish, young, innocent. It reminded her of the poem they had been forced to read, Nothing Gold Can Stay. She had to write a paragraph on it today, so it was on the forefront of her mind. Supposedly, the theme had been about how no one could stay innocent forever, or something like that. How everyone has to grow up, no matter how hard anyone tries. Bianca wasn't sure though - it seemed an awful lot like it was about nature and flowers, not innocence. But Miss O'Malley wouldn't like it if she said that.

Picking her pencil back up, Bianca forced herself to concentrate. Nico wouldn't be innocent forever, she couldn't protect him all the time. It was a matter of life, and it was best to move on from that.

"They're so big now!" Nico gasped, putting his hands on his cheeks. "Are they gonna practice flying? Are they? They will, I bet! They will!"

Not even having to give Nico a response this time, Bianca stifled a laugh and shook her head. It was the weekend, and as Nico had put it, they were "free from the horrible place of torture". Fairly accurate.

"Aw, the small one is so cute… no, don't push her! Rude birds…" One chick was noticeably smaller than rest, Bianca admitted. Small enough to be pushed out of the nest by the other overeager chicks. Often that did happen if the nest got to be too small for them, and interesting tidbit she learned in science, but she decided not to tell Nico that.

"Bianca! Some of them are flying! They're flying! They're so good now, better than yesterday and the day before that and a week ago!" Flapping his hands in excitement, Nico danced a little, beaming.

Bianca didn't want to tell him that they would be leaving the nest soon if they could fly well. She didn't have the heart to, she didn't want to see the crumpled look on Nico's face. But she knew it would happen soon, whether it be today, tomorrow or in a few days. Either she would tell him, or he would find out on his own. She didn't like either option, but it was clear what Bianca would have to do.

"Yup, they're growing up," Bianca said teasingly, falling into the older sister role. "Just like you." Poking Nico in the stomach, she laughed as he stuck his tongue out at her.

Lapsing into silence, they were content to watch the birds flutter around, nearly as big as their parents. Hesitating, Bianca wondered if now was the time to break the news to Nico that soon the birds would leave the nest. He had seemed to have attached to the birds, the smallest one especially. These were the times where Bianca hated being the older sister, the surrogate parent. Bianca didn't want to do this, but she had to. It was either that or let Nico discover it on his own. Which was probably worse… or was it?

"Wait…" Nico said, furrowing his brow. "Why… why are they leaving? No… come back!" All of the birds but the smallest one had flown away, one by one to their horror. Bianca nearly slapped her forehead, she was supposed to tell Nico about this! But she had been too late. "No! Why are they leaving? They - they can't leave… well, at least she's staying." Crossing his arms, Nico looked determinedly at the smalled bird, fighting back tears. "She won't leave me."

But that bird flew away too, following her family. This prompted Nico to burst into tears - and Bianca didn't blame him. She had failed to prepare him for the birds' departure, something she should have done. It was her duty as the older sibling, but she hadn't. She had been too cowardly.

"Nico," Bianca said gently, rubbing his back. "Did you expect her to stay?"

"Yes!" Nico sobbed, hiccuping. "They - they were my friends!"

"They grew up," Bianca murmured quietly, trying to comfort him. "They grew up, and they had to leave. They'll live a really happy life, flying in the sky. They couldn't stay in the nest forever, Nico, it was… too small for them. Now they're free."

"So... they'll be happy in the sky?" Nico said, calming a little. Wiping his eyes quickly, he sniffled, reaching for a tissue. "They'll be… free?"

Bianca nodded. "Yes, Nico," she said soothingly. "Free."

His tears slowing to a stop, Nico shuddered once before quieting. "Okay," he said. "But I'm never growing up. I never wanna leave anyone alone. You won't leave me either, right Bianca?"

Bianca nodded and murmured, "Of course, Nico." Ushering him into the kitchen for a bowl of ice cream, a pensive look was stuck on her face. How she wished Nico would stay young, innocent forever. And how she wished she could stay with him and protect him all the time. But the world didn't work like that. Even her sweet, childish Nico would have to grow more serious one day. He would have to grow up, and it was her job to help with that. Just like that stupid poem said, nothing gold can stay.