9:11 Dragon
Their names are Bethany and Carver, and she doesn't know how to be an older sister.
Mommy's in the kitchen, mashing up some turnips. Daddy's down working at the docks, helping load crates onto the big war ships that will send the Orlesians back home if they try anything. Everyone looks proud and scared whenever they talk about it, though, even if they won't tell Marian anything about it. So, she shrugs, leaves the grown-ups to their business, and clambers on top of the box she sneaked from her bedroom to peer over the top of the cot.
They're both so little, Marian thinks. Daddy says that they're twins, which Next-Door Nora says means they're going to be the same. Marian doesn't think they're really similar at all. First off, Bethany's a girl and Carver's a boy. Second, Bethany always looks cheerful and at peace, while Carver only looks happy when he's sleeping.
They're both sleeping right now, because that's what babies do, they sleep and eat and don't want to play, even when Marian asks nicely. Curious, Marian reaches into the cot and pokes Bethany, just a bit, prodding her in the belly. Bethany lets out this little coo, before mumbling herself back to whatever dreams babies have.
Delighted by this revelation, Marian pokes Carver, too, but maybe she poked too hard in excitement, or maybe Carver's sensitive, because he starts crying, and now Mommy's running to see what the fuss is, and she pulls Marian away from the cot and does that finger-wagging thing she does whenever Marian does something wrong, and Marian can't help but think how unfair it all is, because she didn't deserve this, Carver's just a big baby, she just wanted to play, and now she's supposed to go sit outside and think about what she's done. So Marian huffs and plops down on the rug in the living room, broodily nudging her mabari plush with her toe.
Her sister's name is Bethany, and she's a sweetheart, and Carver's a sulky no-fun poophead.