The Quiet

Chapter Five

Now: 1:34 am, 2 days later

     Cybele curls up in her chair, watching the stars shine as they complement the moon. Her leg bounces up and down with nerves caused by the unknown. She glances at the alter that lays on a golden framed glass table. The candles are lit, giving everything near them a glow.

This is not a night for her to be able to sleep peacefully.

     Standing, Cybele tosses her blanket onto her bed. She takes a pair of shorts from her dresser and slips them on before exiting her room. She pulls up the sleeves of her oversized sweater. She feels a cat press up against her ankle.

     Goosebumps slowly rise on Cybele's exposed legs as she walks through the silent and dark house, feeling the same cat purr as it continues to try and rub against her. She looks down at the cat as it's long and fluffy tail wraps around her ankle.

Cybele crouches down and scratches behind the cat's ear. Finding some relief, Cybele smiles as she continues to scratch behind the cat's ear. She picks the cat up and holds it in her arms, letting it curl up and get comfortable.

She walks outside and towards the shed, where she keeps food for the animals who come to visit. Cybele lets the cat down and it bolts over to another cat. She shows a real smile that doesn't last long.

     Grabbing a bag of corn, Cybele tears it open with the knife she has on the shelf. Taking the bag outside she tosses corn out over the ground. She spots a small fawn with budding antlers. She smiles as she crouches down to the fawns level, taking a handful of corn.

Slowly, Cybele reaches her hand out towards the fawn. The fawn hesitantly makes his way towards Cybele. He sniffs a little in her hand, immediately starting to eat the corn. Cybele smiles as the fawn does so. She looks up to see a big deer with huge antlers, 12 points. The deer starts to hear out of the bag. Cybele laughs to herself a little.

     When the fawn finished and wandered off to meet his mother, Cybele stands and makes eye contact with the giant deer. She slowly reaches out her hand, letting the deer know she is friendly. She slowly reaches out and places a hand on his forehead.

   The deer walks forward and head butts Cybele's stomach lightly. She laughs as she tries to dodge the large, twisted antlers. The deer backs up a little and does it one more time. Cybele almost stumbles this time. She walks back to stable herself and watches the deer walk away.

     Cybele walks into the garden, fireflies lighting her way to every soft lighted lamp. Vines crawl down her arms and onto the lamp posts, igniting the lamps. Each lamp gives off a soft glow her freckles start to glow green.

Each step she takes, the moss on the stepping stone grows under her bare feet. It's what happens when she doesn't wear shoes.

Cybele reaches to the other side of the garden and turns on the watering and moisturizer system. Soon to realize light a low light is glowing softly inside the guest bedroom.

     Suddenly, the sound of whining comes from. Cybele uses her to enhances senses and relies on her hearing. Puppies.

     "Oh fuck,"

     Cybele instantly goes into a high alert, using her sense of hearing to lead her way. As the whining gets louder, the faster Cybele runs. The whines lead her into the darker side of the wounds, near one of the larger lakes.

     Suddenly, a vine wraps around her ankle and trips her. Cybele feels the vines leave a Mark on her ankle as she tries to get up smoothly. She grumbles a few words as she starts to get up.

     Her heart drops even further when she sees a dark mark around her ankle. She has never seen it in her life before. It only looks like a stain. But that's not what's important as she starts to run again.

     The sound of deer follows her trail of moss into the woods. Cybele starts to panic as she struggles to not find the puppies. She runs her hands through her hair, flowers, and leaves falling from it. Cybele looks all around her. She spots movement little ways to the left.

A deer nudges her and bolts towards the movement, along with two male deer. Cybele trails after them. She sees them stop far ahead of her, soon to try to pick up her speed.

      Three small puppies come into sight, waddling and scrawny looking, seeming only two to three months old. But suddenly, a full-grown female dog lays panting on the ground, not too much meat on her, at an unhealthy weight, and able to see her rib cage.

     "Oh, babies," Cybele mumbles, heart, dropping to her stomach.

     A puppy, thin coat of darker browns and white, showing a sweet face of a mixed breed. She rushes over to the bigger one. The mother.

     "Cybele! Cybele!" She hears a familiar German accent yell for her, footsteps complimenting the accents echo.

      "By the lake! Closer to...closer to the big tree on the...on the right!" Cybele tells back. She looks back at one of the deer.

     "I see you, I'll be there!" His echoes followed by a bamf.

     Cybele gently picks the dog up and into her arms. The puppies keep falling at her feet, their barks raspy. The echos of feet grew closer to her.

      She turns to see Kurt, stunned as the dog puppies come into view. Sadness and hurt grow clear in his face. "Oh no," Kurt mutters.

"Are you able...are you able to hold all three puppies? We need to get all...all three of them to the house, along with...along with their momma," Kurt immediately grabs the puppies, letting Cybele lead the way towards the house.

"Let me teleport," Kurt says, earning a nod from Cybele. Cybele mouths 'thank you' to the deer as the runoff. He wraps his tail around Cybele pulling her closer to him, teleporting to the living room of the house.

"Thank you...thank you so much, Kurt," she says as she places the dog gently on the couch. She rushes over to get blankets and cover the dog to give it warmth. It's too cold outside for her or her pups.

Turning to Kurt, her eyes grow softer as she admires the way he gets the puppies to calm down. He very carefully bounces them in his arms, causing them to stop whining.

She places a large fuzzy blanket on the floor, letting Kurt place them down. "Can you watch...can you watch them for a second while...while I get them food?" Cybele asks softly.

"Of course!" Kurt says, crouching down between the couch and the puppies. Cybele rushes into the kitchen, retrieving three bottles, filling them with milk. She gets a bowl and mixes soft food and hard food for the dog.