"Have I ever told you the saying, 'blood is thicker than water?'"

A girl who was no more than a day over seven tilted her head, glancing at her older brother with curious eyes.

"No, I don't think I've ever heard that before," the younger one replied, humming as she thought about what the quote could possibly mean.

There was a brief silence between the pair. Instead of their voices filling the air, the rustling of branches and chirps from birds sitting above them gave them something to listen to. If they strained their ears hard enough, they would be able to hear the lazy gurgling of a creek.

The old oak tree that towered over the small hill gave the two young kids a brief respite from the sweltering heat. The summer months usually weren't so brutal, but this year seemed to be different. In fact, the young girl recalled her parents talking about the huge risks of a fire starting. Usually there would be enough rain to satiate the land, but there hadn't been a single drop thus far.

"So, tell me what water is thicker than blood means."

The boy snickered, finding it funny how his sister managed to mess up such a simple phrase.

"It's blood is thicker than water, and it means that the people that are in your family are more important than friends," he explained, trying to recall the fancy words his father had used to describe it. Well, he was pretty sure he got it right, even if he may have left out a few things.

His sister sat up, crossing her arms as she did.

"Does that mean you're more important than mom is?"

The boy paused, thinking about her question before sighing, "maybe? I don't know how it works."

Before they could continue figuring out what it meant together, a scream tore them from their thoughts.

Startled and uneasy, the siblings glanced at one another before scrambling to their feet. Usually screaming wasn't a sign that something good was happening.

Without a word, the kids scurried down the hill, almost tripping over their own feet as they went.

It wasn't long before their home came into view. Brilliant red flames shot out from the busted open windows, allowing the heat trapped inside to roll out in waves.

The girl quickly turned away, uncomfortable with the sudden warmth lashing at her face. The boy however kept his eyes glued to the quickly crumbling home, unable to look away from the destruction.

The white walls were slowly turning a charred blac k, the paint peeling away as the heat grew. Smoke poured out of whatever crack it could find, mucking up the sky with its disgustingly toxic tendrils.

"Where's mom?" The girl managed to choke out the words, struggling with the smoke blowing their way.

Her brother didn't respond. He was too overwhelmed with shock to register her words.

He so desperately wanted to close his eyes, the brightness from the flames and smoke bringing him pain he's never felt before. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to do anything.

Not even as a tall figure came up behind him, bloodied axe ready to swing down and split his head open.

All it took was a glance in her brother's direction for her to catch sight of the axe before scream tore itself from her throat as she reached out, desperately trying to grab her brother's hand.

"Tom-"

She didn't get to finish her plea before the axe was brought down. A sickening crack rang through the air as the freshly sharpened blade hit its target. The young girl violently twisted her head away from the scene before she could see the weapon connect. Even if she couldn't see it, she could feel it.

Blood wasn't far behind the blow. It splattered against the exposed skin of her neck and face, as well as her clothes and shoes. It took her mind a few seconds to digest what had just happened. But when it clicked, she fell to her knees, cries bubbling up in her throat. As she blubbered and wailed, the man with the axe cleaned his blade, grimacing at the mess he had made.

"Phils' gonna kill me for making such a scene," he grumbled, clearly displeased.

She wasn't even listening. She was stuck replaying the scene over and over in her head, the shock slowly fading into horror.

"Listen orphan, I know you're going through it right now, but I need you to come with me, alright?" He almost sounded... annoyed. Like he didn't care either way. When she didn't respond he rolled his eyes and stalked closer to her, quickly sheathing his axe so he had both of his hands free.

He quickly scooped the frozen child into his arms, his gaze softening the tiniest bit. After making sure she wouldn't squirm out of his hold, he made his way to his trusty steed.

With a final glance at the carnage he was leaving behind, he snapped the reigns. His eyes remained glued to the path in front of him, never once turning to look back.

---------------------------

"(Y-

"(Y/n)!"

The girl jolted awake, vision blurry and breathing panicked. She grabbed fistfuls of the comforter beneath her, desperately trying to steady herself. Her brow was absolutely drenched in sweat as well as her back.

"Hey hey, it's okay. Dad's right here," a familiar voice soothed. Sturdy arms wrapped around her small form, gently tugging her closer. It was a warm and comforting embrace, something familiar and safe.

After winding down from her previous panic, she pulled away, wiping at the few tears that had leaked from her eyes. All she did was smear and spread the moisture around, making it worse than it was before.

The winged man before her reluctantly let her slip away from his arms. She gave him a wobbly smile that threatened to drop at a moment's notice. Try as she may to put up a strong front, guilt bled onto her face in the form of a crimson flush. She hadn't meant to scare her dad, and she was embarrassed about being frightened from a silly dream. It wasn't real after all.

"Can you tell me what happened, sunshine?"

(Y/n) hesitated, not wanting to worry him any more than he already was. Even now when she was thinking about it, the dream was already fading. She was starting to forget the faces and people who had been in it, but what wasn't disappearing was the raw fear she experienced.

"It was just a nightmare," she muttered, hoping the older blond wouldn't press her on it. He paused for a second, seeming like he wanted to ask her for more details but ultimately backed off, sensing her discomfort. He would have to ask her later when she wasn't feeling so overwhelmed.

Rapid footsteps caught their attention, drawing their eyes to the door a second before it was thrown open and consequently into the wall with a loud thump. (Y/n) flinched from the noise and her father seemed even seemed startled at the sudden intrusion.

"Is everything alright? We heard the commotion." Ah, it was Wilbur, the sensible one of the family. His frantic eyes tore apart the room until they landed on her. His body visibly sagged with relief when he came to the conclusion that she wasn't injured or missing.

His appearance was unkempt and messy. The curly mop of hair on his head that was usually well groomed was matted and probably unwashed. The dark bags under his eyes almost rivaled that of their father, and she was sure that this was only going to cause them to grow worse. He had probably been up all night again, nothing that was new to her.

(Y/n) shifted under his intense stare, wanting nothing more than to be alone to digest what had just happened. That probably wasn't going to happen seeing as she was never alone, always a sibling or her dad hovering around, but she could still hope.

It wasn't long before her other siblings made an appearance with Wilbur graciously stepping aside to allow them to filter through. She would have been happy to see them if she wasn't trying to deal with her explosive emotions right now.

A familiar and rambunctious blond quickly scrambled over, throwing caution to the wind. He almost tripped over his own feet but somehow managed to plop onto the bed without much trouble. He squirmed around a bit until he finally settled and made himself comfortable.

And last to enter the crowded room was the eldest, tall and imposing. Seeing as he was the more reserved and closed-off type, he leaned against the doorframe, eyeing (Y/n) from his chosen spot.

Techno's pink locks were pulled into a messy braid with a few rebellious strands poking out here and there. His usually well kept boots were caked in fresh mud, which meant he had probably been outside tending to his hounds or checking up on his horse.

"You really don't have to worry about it, I'm fine." (Y/n) tried her best to sound confident, faltering a bit as their gazes hardened. Okay okay, she'll be the first to admit that she's a horrible liar. That, or her siblings and father had an uncanny ability to detect lies. Ever since she was little, it had been almost impossible to hide things from them.

Now that she was older, she couldn't help but wonder why. How did they always manage to drag the truth out of her? Was-

"Screaming and waking up from a nightmare sounds normal to me. Guess we were worried for nothing," a sarcastic voice cut through her developing thoughts and pulled her attention back to the topic at hand. Techno added a scoff after his statement and placed a hand on his jutted out hip as if it would make the comment hit harder.

(Y/n) sighed, exhaustion already curling around her even though she just woke up. She needed to get them to talk about something else or they'd be there all day.

"I'm hungry, who's turn is it to cook?" She grabbed her stomach for emphasis.

They fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Her siblings were quick to file out, bickering-mainly Tommy and Wilbur-about who was going to cook. She listened intently as their voices and footsteps faded. She was grateful that it changing the subject worked and she wouldn't be bothered about the 'dream' anymore. Knowing those three, they'd probably forget it was ever a thing by the time breakfast was served.

"We'll talk about this later." (Y/n) flinched, whipping her head around.

Without saying anything else, Phil stood up and casually strolled out of her room, quietly shutting the door behind him. As soon as she heard the door click into place, she relaxed. Finally!