Short stories

Sparks of Hope (pt. 12)

It was starting to get late. Athena fed us until we were full, her food was amazing! I've never tasted something so amazing in my whole life!

"Alright little ones. I think you should all start getting read for bed. You can take baths or showers if you wish. I'm sure that it will feel nice to scrub all of that dirt off of your face." the brunette said and we all stood up from the couch.

"Uh... what's a bath?"

Hearing this, the woman sighed and shook her head. "I can see that wherever you lived before here, they didn't teach you proper hygiene," she mumbled while rubbing her temples. ‟Okay, youngest to oldest. Who here is the youngest and who is the eldest?" she asked with her hands on her hips and we all looked at each other.

It was hard to tell, we were at most only a few years older than one another. De- Lynx cleared his throat before saying, "I'll go last since I think I might be the oldest. I'm the tallest and my hair is a bit longer."

Luna then nodded before looking down at me and Fox (I don't care if she got her name changed. She still annoys me, so she will remain Fox). "It's between the two of you. Out of all of us, you two are the shortest and have the shorter hair."

Fox and I looked at each other before going back to back, only to see that Fox was a few inches taller than me.
"That means you are going first little one," Athena said with a kind smile as she held her hand out to me in a kind way. I hesitated before placing my shaking hand into hers. Would this bath thing hurt? Was it some kind of torture device?

The brunette led me out of the room we were all currently in and my tail swayed nervously behind me, gently smacking my leg as we walked. She soon opened a door to a smaller than average room and there were a few porcelain objects in there. My eyes soon landed on a large tub looking thing that was attached to the wall. The wall also had pieces of metal sticking out of it, making me shiver. Athena pat my head gently, making me purr as she twisted one of the pieces of metal attached to the wall. My ears perked up when I heard the sound of rushing water and I looked around, trying to find the source of it. Athena chuckled and pointed towards another piece of metal that was now gushing out water.

My eyes went wide and I curiously leaned over to touch the water. I was expecting the water to be cold, like the water in the river, but to my surprise it was the exact opposite. My tail swayed and I smiled, enjoying the warmth of the water.

Athena placed a gentle hand on my head. "Now, first, you take off that dirty dress and then you step into the water and sit down," she explained and I nodded slowly before stripping off my soiled hospital gown. I placed one foot into the crystal clear water before my other came in after it. Warmth spread throughout my body and I sat down in the water, giggling when the water splashed around me. Smiling, the brunette grabbed a small piece of cloth along with a bottle that had some yellow liquid type substance inside of it. I watched her curiously as she poured the dense liquid onto the cloth and she rubbed it around, creating a little bit of white foam.

"Turn around dear," her smooth voice whispered and I obeyed, turning so my back was facing her. I could faintly hear her make a noise of confusion before a finger trailed over my shoulder, tracing over the black tattoo that felt like it was burned into my skin.

"Oh my... does everyone have one of these?" she whispered and I nodded. "To have a needle touch your skin in such a way is... inhumane." oh if only she knew... that tattoo would look like an act of compassion if she knew what other terrible things that they did.

I remained silent before feeling the cloth run up and down my back, scrubbing off the dirt and blood, making most of my scars visible. We remained silent, only my occasional purring rang throughout the room. Soon after she finished washing both my body and my hair, I never felt so clean in my life.

It was peaceful for a while until a knock could be heard, making the golden eyed woman sigh. "I'd better go get that," she said before standing up. "If you're ready to get out, just wrap yourself in that blue towel and if you go into the first room on the left, you'll be in my bedroom. Wait there and then I'll get you some clothes," she instructed before stepping outside and walking down the stairs.

I followed her instructions and wrapped the fluffy towel around my skinny figure before stepping out of the warm bathroom. The cold air hit me and shivers racked troughout my body. I quickly scampered off towards the bedroom before sitting on the bed, wrapping the fluffy towel tighter around my body and curling up into a ball, hoping that would help get rid of the chill. I could faintly hear talking downstairs, but I didn't pay too much attention to it.

Footsteps soon came up to the room I was in and the door creaked open and revealed Athena along with a blonde haired girl standing next to her. The girl had pretty brown eyes and she looked to be about 11 years old. The two of us had a stare off and my ears pinned back, starting to get nervous.

The girl suddenly smiled brightly and ran over to me and I could faintly see something pink and light blue attached to her back. "Oh my goodness! She's so cute! Is she the last one you found? Oh my goodness she is precious!" she squealed out, making me lean away from her.

Athena laughed at the girl's reaction before nodding her head. "Yes Ella, she is the fourth one in their little group. Her name is Haylee and she's the youngest out of all of them," she explained before continuing, "please be nice, they have gone through something... rough and they're still very shaken up by it."

Ella nodded her head and looked me up and down, her eyes sparkling. "You look so cool! Those are cat ears right?" she asked and I nodded in response, not knowing what to say to the girl. She giggled. "That's amazing! I'm a fairy! I've got wings and I know some magic." She turned around and showed me her wings and I stared at them wide eyed, they were beautiful.

Turning back around, Ella leaned in, giving me a smile. "I also have some family issues, so if you ever want to talk to me, feel free too." she whispered and I gave her a shy smile, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"O-okay. T-thank you E-Ella." I squeaked out and she squealed while hugging me tightly, making me jump and stiffen up while also letting out a surprised yelp.

"Oh! My! Gosh! You are just the cutest thing ever! I will protect you with my life! And if anyone tries to hurt you, I'll make them pay!" Ella probably didn't mean what she said, but her words comforted me a lot. There was someone in the world that I could rely on.

I subconsciously snuggled into the girls chest and purred softly with my tail swaying. I liked this girl a lot already and we had only met a minute ago.
Athena smiled at the sight of the two of us. "Ella will be crashing here for the night, so I was hoping that you two wouldn't mind sharing this room."

Ella and I looked at the brunette before smiling and shaking our heads.

"Wonderful. Ella would you mind getting Haylee some clothes? Tomorrow the six of us will be going into town to get everyone some clothes and maybe get something done with their hair." the busty woman said and with that, she was off.

The town? I wonder what that would be like?