#Lizabeth Barnett

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Day 76 // ft. Ezra, Pythrormr, Lilian, Lizabeth, Lindsey, a couple of the conevites, and Oliver & Alban

#66 / Sisters

“You said you’d always be there for me… so how did this happened? Why weren’t you there?” his little sister asked him, tears in her deep brown eyes, her hyperbolic triangle pupils blown wide with fear. He looked down at the seven year old in indifference, even as there was crashing on the first floor.

There was a piercing scream from another of his sisters, which abruptly cut off with a horrible gagging sound. His mother wailed, that same cry she always made when this happened. He glanced at the door. His sister grew restless, and grabbed his shirt.

“It’s happening again! You have to do something!”

He crouched down to look her directly in the eyes. Tears spilled over her cheeks, and he told her, “The only thing I have to do, sister, is survive.”

“Please, don’t let them hurt me…” Selfish, only begging for her own life. He pried her hands off of him and stood up straight. “No! Don’t leave again! Please!” Footsteps came up the stairs, and he heard his mother shout the names of him and his remaining sisters.

As someone broke through the door with an ax, he hopped out the window and left, those pretty voices in the back of his head he worshiped telling him exactly where to go.

-

Oliver still hadn’t made friends with the other children in his father’s village, and it was starting to bother him. Alban was too young to play games with rules, and hadn’t learned to walk yet. His bearer had liked playing with him when they first moved, but now that he was almost due with more babies, he was too tired and achy to play. The village doctor had told him to stay off his feet as much as possible, so that meant his bearer couldn’t come outside and play with him. His father was always very busy, so they rarely played together.

He wasn’t sure why the other children hadn’t gotten used to him yet. He’d been there for almost a year, and he was their leader’s son. Since everyone loved his father and weren’t afraid of him, he was confused. They’d gotten used to his bearer, though he suspected it was only because his bearer had turned into something of an accessory to his father. He’d asked his father if the others didn’t like him because he looked strange, but his father had called that silly, saying that judging others based on appearance wasn’t something the Gods’ worshipers did.

So he played by himself away from all the other children, taking a ball or toy with him. Sometimes he would sit and watch the wind blow in the grassy hills surrounding the village, or settle down by the river and soak up the sun.

Today, he laid atop a small, grassy hill after spending a while kicking a ball around, and absorbed the sunlight beating down on him. The temperature was fairly high, and he was pleasantly warm. After a while, he turned his head to look over at the river.

He sat up straight when he saw three people in some kind of roofless vehicle. Immediately, he regretted being so startled. They spotted him, and the vehicle veered off towards him. He debated running, but decided that they would easily catch up to him in the vehicle. It’d be better to wait for them to get out of it before trying to fight or flee. His knife was strapped to his leg, and he was a quick draw.

The vehicle slowed to a halt at the base of the hill, and one of the people hopped out, hands raised up to show they had no weapons. He stood up, keeping his hand on his knife. The person walked up to him, and he could see that they were human, an adult woman. Her pupils were a triangular shape he had never seen before, like someone had squeezed the sides of the triangle in.

She smiled down at him, and thought there was something familiar about her face, though he certainly didn’t recognize her. Glancing at the vehicle, he saw the other two were human women as well, both similar to the first in appearance, though varying in age. Her voice was familiar as well as she greeted him with a, “Hey kid, how ya doing?”

“Who are you?”

“Wow, they said the conevites didn’t like outsiders, but… You’re not a conevite, are you? They’ve got big ears.” When he didn’t respond, she sighed and answered, “My name is Lilian. These are my sisters, Lizabeth and Lindsey. What’s your name?”

“My parents said not to give my name to strangers.”

“Sensible. Do you live with the conevites?”

“Yeah. What do you want? We don’t conduct trades or sales in town.”

“Oh! We’re not traders! We’re looking for someone. Our brother. We heard rumors that he went to the conevites for help twenty years ago, and wanted to know if anyone could help us find him.”

“There’s only one human in town. The Prophet, Ezra. I could ask him if he knows about your brother. He’s been here for a really long time. And since you’re not selling anything or trying to stay, I guess you could come ask people.”

She beamed. “Thank you!”

“What’s your brother’s name?”

“Morrigan Barnett.”

-

One of the conevites dragged him aside by the arm when he walked into the village, the three sisters behind him in their vehicle. “Oliver, who are those people?”

“They’re humans. Lilian, Lizabeth, and Lindsey. Their brother went missing twenty years ago, and they heard he came here for help. I’m going to ask my father if he can help them find him.”

“Oh. Hm… I would have been a child. I don’t remember any humans besides the Prophet coming here.”

“Do you know where my father is?”

“He’s still in the house with your mother.”

He thanked them, and began walking to the house. The sisters stopped their vehicle in the village square, and he glanced back at them to see Lilian greeting a few of the older conevites. Since his father’s house was just outside the village, on the top of a hill with a large, flat peak, and he didn’t want his chest to start hurting, he walked slowly up the path.

When he got to the house, he walked right in, knocking on the door frame to alert his bearer that he was back. His parents and brother were in the main room. His bearer was lounging on the couch, his brother lying on a pillow by his bearer’s knee. His father was by the shrine, praying. Oliver stayed quiet, knowing he wasn’t supposed to interrupt. So he waited, and went up to his bearer. He received a kiss on the forehead, and his bearer had him sit so he could pluck the grass strands from his headfeathers.

His bearer’s arm wrapped around him, and he leaned back against him. He could feel and hear the man purring, and he soon dozed off.

When he startled awake as his bearer shifted, he could see that the sunlight streaming through the windows was dim. His bearer rubbed his arm. “It’s okay, dear, you just slept for a few hours.”

“Ah… I had something I wanted to ask Father about.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You just looked like you needed the sleep. I know Alban and I did too.”

Before Oliver could say it was alright, his father entered the room, a smile on his unmasked face. “I heard you ask for me.”

Oliver got up and took a few steps closer. “Yes, I had a question.”

“Of course. What is it?”

“Do you know who Morrigan Barnett is?” he asked.

The smile on his father’s face was quickly replaced with one of anger, and before Oliver could even see it coming, his father had struck him hard across the face. He was thrown to the ground by the force of it. Too shocked to react, he laid there. His father dropped down, grabbed him by the shirt collar, and demanded, “Where did you hear that name?!”

He was released just as quickly as he was grabbed, as his bearer snarled and lunged at his father, grabbing him and forcing him to the ground. Oliver sat up and touched his face. His body finally registered the pain, and tears welled up in his eyes. His little brother wailed.

“How dare you hit our sssson! What isss wrong with you?”

“Where did he find out about that name?”

His bearer ignored the question, hissing, “If you ever touch my children again, I will kill you. I don’t care who you are, I’ll rip you to piecessss. No one touchesss them.”

“Get off-! Oliver, tell me where you heard that name!”

“Don’t yell at my ssson!” His bearer pressed down on his father’s throat. It looked like he was about to kill him, and Oliver was petrified, his chest hurting. He didn’t understand what was going on at all. He squeezed his eyes shut to try and wake himself up, but the snarling and wailing didn’t stop, and he was still sitting on the floor when he opened his eyes.

Though he found it difficult to get in enough air, he answered his father’s question. “I- I heard the name from three humans. They’re- they’re in town, ‘cause- ‘cause their brother Morrigan went missing a long time okay, and- and they’re… they’re looking for him. I… I said I’d ask you…” His eyes stung, and he hugged his legs to his chest, starting to sob.

His bearer released his father, but kept growling at him as he picked up the two children. They left the house, and Oliver didn’t look up to see where they were going. He heard his father shouting for them, but his voice got quieter.

“General! What’s wrong? What are you doing on your feet?” Oliver glanced at the person.

“Protecting my children.”

“Did something happen?”

“Ezra hit Oliver. He went mad after Oliver asked him about some human.”

The elderly conevite’s ears went straight up in surprise, her long fingers twitching. “Oh… The Prophet has never raised a hand to anyone before. Though… was the name perhaps Morrigan?”

“It was.”

“I probably shouldn’t speak of it, but… when the Prophet first arrived here, he confessed to the Gods that he had murdered an innocent man, named Morrigan Barnett, and performed the funeral rites for him.”

“I didn’t know he had killed someone… A bit hypocritical of him to try and shame me for all the deaths I caused, when he doesn’t have such clean hands.”

“One man is a bit different from too many to count.”

Ignoring that last bit, his bearer sat down on a bench so he could check on Oliver. He frowned at the bruise that was starting to form, and brushed a finger over it, careful not to scrape Oliver with his claw.

Voice low and soft, his bearer asked, “How are you feeling, dear? Does it hurt?”

“Mhmm…”

After a few minutes, a concerned voice asked them, “Are Oliver and the little one alright?” He looked up to see the three sisters. They all looked worried about them.

His bearer didn’t answer their question, instead responding with one of his own, “Are you the humans looking for your brother?”

“Yes. I’m Lilian, and these are my half-sisters, Lizabeth and Lindsey. We heard our older brother once came here.”

“I’m afraid I’ve only been here for a year. But my boys’ father seems to know what happened to your brother. It evoked quite the explosive reaction from him.”

“His face is bruised… Did you get hit asking your dad our question?”

Oliver nodded at the same time his bearer warned, “I wouldn’t expect any good news.”

The three girls exchanged looks, and Oliver sniffled, hugging his bearer. The end of his bearer’s tail came to wrap around him, and the man cooed at him and his little brother. Sensing that both of his family members were upset, Alban didn’t settle down, whimpering and trying to bury himself against his bearer’s chest.

“Pythrormr!” Oliver heard his father shout, and he could see the man jogging up to them. For the first time since Oliver had come here, his father wasn’t wearing his mask outside. “Pythro!”

Lilian turned, her eyes going wide. “Morrigan? Morrigan, is that you?”

His father skidded to a halt, and his eyes opened as wide as they could with the threads keeping them half closed. Mouth opening slightly, he looked between the three sisters. Oliver had a bad feeling about what was going to happen, so he held on tight to his bearer.

“Ezra, these are the humans that told Oliver to ask you about their brother.”

“Morrigan! Oh, we thought we’d never find you-” Lilian went to hug him, but his father shoved her away. Lizabeth caught her, and Lindsey clung to her arm. “Morrigan, what’s wrong?”

“My name isn’t Morrigan. Don’t touch me.”

“What? Why wouldn’t I recognize my own brother…? Morrigan, stop with your stupid games! You’ve been gone for twenty years, everyone who was after us is finally dead! You’re safe now, you don’t have to pretend you’re not associated with us anymore!” Lilian got to her feet, clenching her fists.

“You have me confused with someone else. My name is Ezra, the Prophet of the conevites.”

“You’re Morrigan Barnett, our older brother, who left us for dead twenty years ago as people raided our home and tried to kill us like they’d killed our sisters! What happened to you? What happened to your eyes?”

“Ezra, what’s going on?” Oliver glanced up at his bearer. His headfeathers were ruffled, his eyes narrowed. “The conevites said that Barnett was the name of a man you murdered. Not that you had a different name.”

“The conevites are right,” his father cried, “I did murder Morrigan Barnett! I murdered him, and I have felt guilt every day for my crime! Morrigan Barnett was an innocent man, and I killed him in cold blood as an offering to the gods that they did not ask for, would never demand!”

“But you look just like him, sound like him! Morrigan, what happened in this town? Did they do that to your eyes?” Lizabeth asked.

“I am not that poor man, I am Ezra.”

The three sisters clearly didn’t believe him. As Oliver looked between them, he had his own doubts about what his father was saying. The women resembled him. Since his father had no pupils, he couldn’t tell for sure, but he wouldn’t be surprised if his father had been born with the strange triangles in his eyes.

The four humans argued back and forth, all getting louder until they were yelling at each other. Oliver was terrified that at any moment, his father would lash out at one of the weapon. Alban was crying, so upset by the sound that their bearer couldn’t manage to soothe him. Oliver couldn’t help his own tears and distressed chirps, trembling against his bearer’s side. The reptilian man kept looking between them and the commotion.

The conevites had all fled inside of their homes, though Oliver could see them peeking through the windows, their wide eyes trained on his father.

“Stop!” his father roared. “I am not Morrigan! I am Ezra! Morrigan Barnett died twenty years ago, when I sacrificed him to the gods. I slaughtered him!”

“Why did those gods take you away from our family when we needed you?”

“I am not him! All of my sisters are dead! You aren’t my family- my only family members are my husband and sons.”

His bearer made a small sound, and Oliver looked up. The man had a worried expression, and was looking down at his swollen belly. “Father?” His bearer handed Alban to him and then held his belly, wincing. He took a few deep breaths, closing his eyes. Oliver chirped up at him, but saw no indication that his bearer had noticed.

“Ah…” He leaned forward, face screwing up in pain. “Ezra… ooh... Ezra!”

His father paused in whatever he was saying to the three sisters and hurried over. “Pythro, what’s wrong?”

“Th-the babiesss…”

“Are they coming?”

“No… ssssomething’sss wrong…”

His father turned and looked toward one of the small houses, signing as he shouted, “Doctor!” A skinny conevite quickly exited the house and came over, ears perked up. He signed something quickly to his father, but Oliver couldn’t see both of his hands, so he couldn’t tell what he’d said.

“Pythro, we’re going to take you to the doctor’s house so he can examine you, alright? We’ll help you up.” They pulled him to his feet. His bearer leaned against his father, and the three of them walked slow across the square.

The three sisters didn’t say anything to them as they passed, and didn’t try to follow them. They watched them go by. When the three disappeared behind the door, the sisters looked at Oliver and Alban. “Hey, kid-”

Before Lilian could say anymore, someone lifted up the both of them. It was the conevite who had pulled him aside when he first came into town with the three women. Without a word, the conevite brought them into their house and then locked the door.

Once secure inside, the conevite set them down on a cot, and closed the window and curtains. They turned around to give the two boys a nervous smile. “There! We’ll wait in here until everything settles down. Now, ah… I’ve never been given the task of caring for children, but I was the closest local adult near two unsupervised children, so your care falls to me until your parents can retrieve you, or you can group together with the other children.”

The two didn’t respond to them, so they sat down next to Oliver and hugged him. Alban turned to the warmth of the conevite’s chest, and Oliver buried his face against them.

“I’m sure your mother will be alright. He’s big and strong, and the Gods wouldn’t let anything happen to your siblings.”

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Two of a Kind (1951) Henry Levin

November 20th 2021