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╔═══*.·:·.☽✧✦✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
STARS. IT'S SOMETHING Umbra prayed upon; it's something she depended on.
Every night, Umbra ascended the magnificent roots stowed within the village's square. It was a difficult climb, considering her stubby nature and the tree's unending height. The brink of the redwood soured through the clouds, leaving her with a prolonged, wearisome journey, but it was the only way the stars could hear her prayers.
Thankfully, Umbra reached the misty layer, a few missteps and snapped limbs in her wake. It was as far as she dared go, for to travel any farther, death would certainly follow.
As her foot hit the last visible branch, the leaves ruffled with delight.
Head hung low, she lowered herself against the bark and spoke, "Stars, hear me now. What once was healthy is no more. Begging, I wish for your hand upon my brother. Heal him. Cure his disease, and may I never have to journey afar to your heavens. I will never again ask for your guidance or help 'less you wish it upon me as I have wished upon you. Please, let him heal."
Awaiting in the tree for an answer, it was silent. Perhaps she'd asked for too much. Was she not specific enough?
Doubt crept along Umbra's spine. The stars weren't fond of her. She didn't deserve such a request. She'd done her part- done what she could, with no physicians in her grasp.
With a sigh, Umbra descended the bark and landed atop the rough, terrain soil. A single tear fell from her bronze cheeks. She was well too aware the earth would pave itself as her brother's home, as his paled face would meet his fate 'less the stars healed him of his diseased state.
Sluggish, she approached the alley of which her brother rest upon. Eyes tired and weary, he hoisted himself from his sitting position, but Umbra refused to let her brother meet his death sooner rather than later. Like a thunderbolt striking the ground, she rushed to his side, urging him to be still. Reluctantly, he obliged.
"Where did you-" He couldn't contain the coughing fit heaving through his lungs.
"Hush," Umbra advised. "Don't waste your energy on mere words."
"Umbra," he urged, pressing her to answer his unasked question.
Though his face oozed worrisome, Umbra did not want to answer. She knew how her brother would respond were she to tell him the truth, but she could never lie to him, not to her brother, not as their parents would lie to them. With a lick of her lips, she muttered, "I climbed the sacred tree."
"Umbra!" Although it was meant to sound like a scold, his words were weak and unfitting.
Shifting away from the wall, she said, "I know of the consequences, Gaden."
