Hey everyone, here's a chapter focused on Molly. Probably the first one focusing on her, honestly. Enjoy!

"Molly, you need to wake up."

"What? I am awake, Michael— oh. This isn't real, is it?"

Molly jolted awake, a wave of disappointment coming over her the moment she realized that her delightful sleep story was not reality. Even now, she still struggled to accept the fact that she would no longer awaken to Michael sleeping beside her. It just didn't feel right. Michael was her best friend, she simply couldn't recall a time when they weren't together. Now, he was gone, and she was expected to be okay with it and move on? No part of this was okay.

Molly was doing the best she could, she was doing all she could. She couldn't simply break down and give up. Her boys needed her. But Molly didn't know how she was going to do hers and Michael's job without Michael's help.

"Mom." Adam was now awake, and nudging his mother in the side. "Mom, can you get us some tree stars?"

Molly groaned, shielding her face away from him. "Not now..."

"Please?" He gave her shoulder a shake. "I'm hungry."

"Leave mom alone," scolded Gabriel, who had just entered, ushering him away.

"But I'm—"

"I know you're hungry. I'll get you something. The sky water from yesterday made everything really moist."

"Why can't mom get it?"

"Mom needs some time for herself."

"Still...?"

"Yes. Now come on." He pushed Adam forward towards the entrance of the cave.

As the two rainbow faces stepped out into the light, they passed Amelia, who just happened to be strolling by.

"Morning, boys. How's your mother holding up?"

Gabriel took one look at his mother, her body mostly shrouded in the darkness of the cave. "I think she's trying her best."

Adam stepped forward. "How long do you think she'll be like this?"

A sad frown lingered on Amelia's face. "That's hard to say, Adam. This kind of thing is different for everyone."

"Is there anything we can do...?"

"I'm afraid not. This is something your mother needs to get through on her own, and it can only get better with time. But you can help by reminding her that you'll always be there for her, like she's always been there for you." She looked towards the sky, and then directed her gaze forward before changing the tone of the conversation to something less grim.

"Well, I'm going to go down to the river for a drink. I'll see you boys later."

Gabriel and Adam waved goodbye, and went off to find themselves and their mother some breakfast.

"Here, mom." Adam set a mouthful of tree stars in front of Molly. "We got you something to eat."

Molly lifted her head. "Thank you, boys. But...I'm not hungry."

"You haven't been hungry since we got here," growled Gabriel, his voice carrying more anger than he meant it to.

"You need to eat something, mom." His voice was noticeably softer.

"I will," Molly said dismissively. "Just go off with your friends. Don't worry about me."

Gabriel frowned. How could she just tell him not to worry when she hardly talked, slept, or ate? How was she going to take care of them when she wasn't even taking care of herself?

"Mom, please—"

"Gabriel." Her voice was calm, but firm. "I'll be fine. Just go."

Gabriel worried for his mother, and he only wished she could see it. Adam was worried too, and fearful of what would happen if this carried on for too long. But Molly was persistent. She continued to reject their help, eventually resulting in them heeding her commands and running off to go and play somewhere.

Molly stared at the blank wall, her amber eyes glistening as they budded with freshly brimmed tears. She knew her sons meant well, and she knew that she needed to be at full health if she was going to take care of them. But right now, it felt like nothing mattered. She felt utterly hopeless. A tear rolled down her cheek as she closed her eyes, dozing off in a matter of seconds.

... "Why did we have to get so much sky water?" Molly planted her feet firmly on the ground, one in front of the other as she walked across the moist dirt that had once been as dry as her mouth was at the moment.

"What's wrong with a little sky water?" Michael laughed, and stomped around in the squishy mud that had once been dry land. "I like how it makes everything all squishy. It also makes things grow, which is good."

"I guess," Molly said in a tone of indifference. "But it's still annoying. This morning I was trying to get out of the nest, and I practically fell down the hill because it was so slippery."

A wave of pain coursed throughout her body from the impact of her fall earlier. "Everything hurts..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby." Michael's sage green eyes softened in sympathy. "Where does it hurt most?"

"My side." Molly gestured to the area with her tail.

"Not to worry," chimed Michael, who nuzzled and licked the affected area.

Molly couldn't repress a smile. Michael was obnoxious and sometimes unfathomably stupid, but he was quite the charmer. He made Molly feel special, like she was the only rainbow face in the world, as he only showed such intimacy with her.

"Do you feel better?"

A light chuckle escaped Molly. "A little bit."

With nothing more to say, they continued walking until they reached a clearing once filled with trees. The sky water had caused major flooding, resulting in pools of water that went all the way to the top of the trees. Michael peered into the water, attempting to determine how deep it was. Molly, on the other hand, jumped right in.

"Molly! What are you doing? Get back over here."

"There's no way around it," she explained, not heeding his pleas as she continued to move forward. "Come on. It's not that much of a swim."

Michael was usually the type to jump at an opportunity to do something so risky for the sheer joy of it, but not when it included Molly. He was foolish, but not foolish enough to endanger the life of someone he cared about so deeply. "Molly," he pleaded, "just come back. Come on, we'll go around."

"You can go around," she rebuffed, the water now at her waist. "I don't know why you're so scared. It's just water."

Michael didn't want Molly to be left defenseless, or to hurt herself, so he hopped in and followed her. "I know it's just water," he said. "But it's what's in the water that worries me."

Molly scowled at him. "When did you get so soft?"

In response, Michael frowned. "I'm not soft. I just don't want you getting hurt, that's all. And what's wrong with being soft?"

Molly snorted, not bothering to hide her skepticism. "Yeah. Alright."

The water was now up to their necks, but with Michael being vastly taller than Molly, he was able to maneuver himself through the water easier. Molly, however, had to keep her head raised to avoid the intake of water.

"Not so easy now, is it?" Michael knew it was an inappropriate time to make a snarky comment, but he wouldn't dare to miss such an opportunity.

Molly couldn't quite talk, and expressed her contempt by rolling her eyes. Despite their lighthearted moment, things were taking a turn for the worse. Molly was beginning to tire, unable to keep her head above water for another minute longer. She started to sink, but Michael kept her floating by having her rest her head on the crook of his neck.

"Keep your head above water, baby," he commanded gently.

"I'm trying," she croaked.

They soon reached the deeper water, where Molly definitely wouldn't be able to keep floating. Michael swam forward, eyes glowing with determination. Just past the deep end was a ledge which they could climb onto. Just a little while longer.

As the water became dark, Molly could feel a powerful burning sensation raging inside of her. She couldn't talk, nor could she move her arms. Her breaths were painful and agonizingly short. Then, she relaxed and felt oddly calm for a moment — before everything turned black.

Michael held his breath, refusing to give in to the urge to breathe. As he maneuvered through the water, he hit something hard. The ledge!

He grabbed onto Molly's tail with his, pulling the both of them up onto dry land, a belly dragger barely missing them by an inch.

Michael pat her face, searching for signs of life and desperately hoping that she wasn't dead. He'd always thought of himself as a guardian, and he couldn't even protect the one he loved. Pathetic.

"Molly! Wake up, Molly! You have to wake up!"

His voice faded and slowly became more warbled, and somehow transformed to resemble her son's voice.

"Mom? Mom, wake up."

Molly winced, her eyes suddenly snapping open to see Gabriel standing over her. She blinked, and sat up. "Yes, son?"

"We brought more food."

"You did?" Molly stretched out her neck slightly. "Oh...what time is it?"

"It's almost time for the bright circle to set," said Gabriel. "But you can't really tell because of the sky water."

"Sky water?"

"Yeah. It wasn't that unexpected, since we had some yesterday."

Molly stood up and walked towards the entrance of the cave. The sky was covered in dark grey clouds, shrouding the land in a gloomy and colorless shadow as sky water poured. Molly recalled her and Michael's misadventure with the sky water. That incident had significantly strengthened their relationship, since Michael had come so close to losing her, they'd learned to take much less for granted; least of all each other.

She'd never liked sky water, but as she gazed at the drops of rain pouring from the sky, she was reminded of Michael. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but she felt that it was a sign. For the first time since her loss, she permit herself a smile.

"I quite like the sky water, don't you?"

Gabriel gave a shrug. "Well, it makes things grow..."

Molly chortled. Gabriel had a lot of his father in him. "Your father loved sky water."

"Really? Why would he? It's wet...and gross."

"I thought that too, at first."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Your father."

"How?"

A laugh escaped Molly. "I'll answer all your questions. Come with me."

Gabriel followed his mother, and listened as she recited the tale of her, Michael, and the sky water.