Dawn Chorus (Proxies x Reader)

Tests and Tasks

Only when my feet have skid to a stop at the edge of the steps and I have to throw my weight back to keep from tumbling does my mind let more than escape! pass through my thoughts. Behind me are quick footsteps, just a single set, hustling down the hall and through the living room.

Beyond the cabin, the day has settled into something nice. No longer grey and dreary, contorting around the bounds of things that shouldn't and can't be. Birds chirp and the sky is blue. Picturesque normality that all but takes my breath away. The forest is a flicker of flame, softened in browns and darker hues as the leaves crack and fall. Bright bodies, molting to their basic plumage for the cold months, flicker between emptying branches picking at the remains of berries and grubs. I breathe deeply through my nose, enjoying the comforting, earthy scent of the freshly fallen leaves. I wonder what month it is, what day, what normal seasonal rituals and holiday traditions have slipped me by in my time here. I wonder why I haven't missed it more, why I never thought to count.

"I to-told you she wo-wo-wouldn't tr-try to run," Toby shouts back into the house.

He stumbles top a stop behind me, standing in the doorway. It's nice, him waiting at the edge or the entryway and giving me my space out here. I glance over my shoulder at him and give a small nod. With my permission, he steps from the threshold and strides across the porch. The childlike excitement has faded and the face looking back at me now is that of a young adult who knows more of the world than he should at that age.

"What are you th-thinking ab-bout?" He asks gently, coming to a stop at my side.

I shrug, looking back to the forest and the wind flickering the leaves. "Fall. How I'd normally spend the season. It is...was my favorite, never seemed to last long enough. Now it's too long and yet almost over and everything I would rush to do to enjoy it hasn't happened and I don't...I don't care."

Toby leans onto the railing next to me. "Yeah...th-that happens." He picks at a small splinter in the wood. "Life is d-d-diff-ferent like this. D-different things ma-mat-matter. Time mov-moves different."

"What did it feel like, when you first started...this, and couldn't remember the things you were missing? Did you still know you were missing something?"

Toby shrugs. "Yes and n-no. A l-lot was go-gone already, I think, be-be-be-before I forg-got." He drums his fingers against the wood. "I th-think you'll mi-miss it more ne-next year, when there is less you are mo-mourning."

"That'd suck," I mutter because it's the only way I can think to respond.

Toby snickers. He throws an arm around my shoulder and tugs me into his side. As much as I try to pull away, his grip is sturdy and forceful. I fall into him, huffing and blowing loose (h/c) hair out of my face. Toby bonks his forehead against the top of my head.

"So no-no-no white snakeroot?" He asks jokingly.

"Is that what you spilled?" I ask, face scrunching up at mention of the odor. "It smelled like a research lab and a forest at the same time."

"You p-panicked pretty-pretty b-bad," Toby says, lightly shaking my shoulder.

"Well, I knew there were poisons, knew you spilled something, and it smelled bad."

"So you were ju-just going to-to leave u-us to d-d-die?" Toby feigns shock and hurt.

I turn my chin up at him. "You chose to stick around, and you broke the bottle."

Toby laughs and conks his head against mine again. He gently nudges me down and around the house. We step carefully across the thin mix of moss and grass that circles the base of the cabin. The low setting sun is warm against my skin despite the bite in the air, a reprieve from the cold though only briefly and in bursts. Orange is starting to stretch along the horizon. Today has been incredibly long. Starting on a walk with Toby, ending on a walk with Toby.