I was talking to some friends last night and this suddenly hit me over the head and I just had to write it because why wouldn't I write more cute Lambda and Sophie sibling shenanigans?

Thank you very much to Bele for betaing!

~Insufferable Sisters~

"Sophie. Sophie, wake up!"

He stared down at her, her body almost hidden in the massive field of purple flowers. It'd been getting late—in fact, it was night now—and she hadn't come home. At the insistence of the current Lhant family, he went to go find her. He thought it was rather stupid, really, it wasn't like she couldn't take care of herself if a monster or something happened to attack her. He should've known she'd just simply be here. Again.

"This is the fifth time this week, Sophie. I'm not going to carry you back this time," he crossed his arms, still staring down at her.

She remained unresponsive and unmoving, though. The only sign of her still being alive was the gentle rise and fall of her chest. He fought the very, very strong urge to stomp a foot into the ground.

"Sophie!" he tried again, still to no avail.

How this girl managed to fall asleep so deeply without any concern for possible danger was beyond him. Usually she only came here with the Lhant children during the day, but sometimes she'd come to the hill by herself and fall asleep in the field, much like she was now.

Arms still crossed, he glared down at her sleeping form, lips turning into a frown. He carefully went through various options in his mind. If simply calling her name wouldn't wake her up, maybe another approach would? A glance to a nearby flower gave him the perfect idea.

"If you don't wake up right now, I'll swap out your soil stock for a variety that kills flowers instantly and neglect to tell you about it."

The only response was her continuous, even breathing. His shoulders heaved as he released an exasperated puff of air.

Really, this girl was far more trouble than she was worth. But he supposed in a way this was a challenge and, well, who was he to back down from a challenge?

"I brought Ashley with me and she's armed with a marker. She'll write over every patch of your skin and dress!" He hadn't brought anyone with him, but sleeping girls didn't need to know that.

The response this time was a bit of a noise, but otherwise she remained asleep. Well, it was progress.

He considered a few other options to try but none of them were much different than what he'd already tried. He uncrossed his arms and returned them to his sides, lightly clenching his fists instead. Damn this girl.

"I really will just leave you here this time. You'll wake up all alone, maybe with a monster sniffing at you. It serves you right," he stated, lightly kicking at her foot to see if that would wake her up. It didn't. Nor did his words.

He released a frustrated growl before moving a hand to rub at his forehead briefly, sliding it back through his unruly green hair. He really should just leave. Go back home. There was food waiting at home and he could just eat her portion for her, since she was too busy sleeping. He really wanted to just turn around and walk back.

However, as much as he wanted to do just that, he remained rooted to his place. He really had grown far too soft, hadn't he? This was all The Fool's fault.

He turned his glare from Sophie up to the tree behind her where the carved, though faded, names still remained. Yes. Everything about this situation was nothing less than That Fool's fault, even if it had been over a century.

Another frustrated sigh and he was back to staring at his sister, who was still blissfully unaware of everything around her. He stayed like that for a moment longer before releasing what almost would pass for an annoyed whine.

"You owe me for this. I swear I won't do this anymore if you do it again!" he grumbled as he kneeled down to pick her up.

Trying to maneuver her onto his back was too much of a hassle and he really didn't want to have to bother with it. He was taller than her by a head anyway and unlike a certain Fool, he could carry her weight easily enough using only his arms.

Carefully—although he did entertain the thought of not being gentle in order to wake her up—he shifted her around so her body didn't look or feel quite as awkward, her head rolling lazily against his shoulder. If he wasn't so annoyed, he'd almost find it cute.

"You're insufferable, I hope you're well aware of that," he mumbled under his breath, beginning the walk back to Lhant with her in his arms.

Sophie only mumbled a bit in her sleep, too softly for him to really hear what she might have said. Not that it really mattered to him at all.

When they returned to Lhant, she was still fast asleep. He didn't recall her doing anything particularly exhausting earlier that day, so there was really no reason she would be in such a deep sleep. Maybe he'd question her about it later, if he still cared.

After entering her room, he felt a very strong urge to drop her unceremoniously onto her bed and leave. However, had he done that, he could just hear the admonishment The Fool would have given him if he were still able to. He really had grown much too soft. It was getting ridiculous.

Instead of dropping her, he gently set her down on her bed on top of the sheets. If she was cold, she could simply wake up and tuck herself in or something. Better yet, she could just not fall asleep in a field of flowers, thus forcing him to go get her. Once was one thing, but five times was just absurd!

He glared down at her again once he'd righted himself. Her arms were folded lazily over her stomach and her head was rolled lightly to one side on her pillow. Crossing his arms, he kept glaring at her sleeping face, as if it would wake her up with the force of it.

It didn't, though, so he closed his eyes and heaved a resigned sigh, his features softening slightly. For some stupid reason, he found it more and more difficult to stay mad at her over things like this. It was truly frustrating.

Turning on his heel, he began to walk back to the open door, pausing just before passing through it. Maybe he should have covered her up…at least with a blanket…no! No, if he did that she wouldn't learn! He shook his head quickly to dispel the stupidly soft thoughts.

"You are, without a doubt, the most insufferable sister to ever exist," he mumbled, finally leaving her room and closing the door behind him.

Food was waiting in the dining room for them, and he was serious about eating both his and her portions. It only served her right!

He ended up only eating his.