Sisters of the Glade

Ashlynn~ 6

Work today is slow, and it's fairly quiet in the medjack hut. With the work on my hut complete there wasn't much for me to do with the builders. I lay outside in the grass, an arm slung over my face to block the light out of my eyes. Jeff sits beside me picking at the grass. I hum quietly as we sit there with nothing to do.

I hear Jeff move beside me and glance over to see him lying down as well.

"What are you humming? It sounds familiar."

I shrug. "No clue. But the tune has been stuck in my head all morning."

"Hm."

I close my eyes again, trying to remember any lyrics, but my head was blank. I can't remember where I heard the song, or understand why Jeff would recognize it. It was just weird. Maybe I could ask Willow later. She might know.

There are some shouts coming from another part of the glade and I sit up, looking around to spot Newt and Willow over at the gardens with Alby and Ben standing nearby. I glance over at Jeff who shrugs, and we both stand up and walk over to see what's happening. Newt is on top of Willow who is laughing, her face red. Willow manages to flip him and now Newt is laughing. Ben is doubled over next to Alby.

"What is happening over here?" I ask him.

Alby shrugs. "No clue. I'm choosing to stay out of it."

"Smart."

Willow yells, "Alby, I think Newt's ticklish!"

"I think you're right sunshine." He chuckles and I smile, shaking my head.

Willow and Newt quickly call a tie and she pulls him to his feet. "Now how about we take care of those thorns?" Newt nods and Willow leads him past me towards the medjack hut.

"You coming Ash?" She calls back and I follow her.

Newt sits on one of the cots and I grab some ointment and bandages as Willow starts pulling the thorns out of his legs.

"So what exactly happened?" I ask as I pour some of the ointment onto a cloth.

"Willow stole my jacket and wouldn't give it back, so I chased her through the woods and ran through some thornes."

"Good job." I laugh.

"Then she hit me with that branch!" He rubs a large red mark on the side of his face.

"I already told you that wasn't my fault. The branch was connected to the tree so it was the tree! Besides I warned you." She yanks a large thorn from his leg.

"Ow! You did that on purpose!"

"The branch or the thorn?"

I shake my head at the two of them and glance at my watch. It was already getting late. I hadn't been paying attention to the time much, but now when I looked outside I did notice it was getting dark. Willow and Newt had been in here for a while because of how many thorns Newt had collected.

I yawn and look at the pair. "It's starting to get late and I'm pretty tired, so I'm heading to bed. Goodnight."

"Night Ash," Willow responds without looking up.

As I walk out I bump into Alby.

"Hey Ash."

I nod to him. "Hey."

He looks me over, probably noting the bags I knew I had under my eyes.

"You should get some rest."

"Yeah, that's actually where I was heading."

"Good. And you're on bed rest tomorrow too."

"What? Oh, Alby, come on! I'm fine!" He just crosses his arms, showing he wouldn't budge. I groan and roll my eyes. "Fine." I brush past him and walk to my hut, kicking the door closed behind me. I fall back onto my bed and stare up at the ceiling.