If {I} Told --You-- {Shrimp}

The moment he heard the door open, Storm looked up to see who it was. Europa had run in with Sundra calmly following the younger girl. While Storm had expecting his family to visit him, he was surprised to see that the rest of them weren’t with the two girls. His family was pretty big on the whole family thing and he knew that if they could have, his parents would have insisted that Sundra and Europa wait for them. No matter though; it meant more time to be with his family in general.

As Europa ran up to Storm, her small arms encircled Storm’s larger body. Even if she was still a small girl, she had quite the force when she ran in, almost knocking Storm back. It was fairly evident that the girl was sobbing, but Storm had to listen close to hear what she was saying. Her voice was not in a whisper, but with all the sobs, Storm found it hard to piece the words together.

“You can’t--*sniffle*--leave yet. You--*coughs*--you need to stay. With Sundra and Io and me! Storm, I don’t want you to go!”

All words after that became incomprehensible. If they were at home, Storm would have told Europa that there was no need to cry so much, that she was going to shrivel up if she kept crying. He would have told her a joke. He would have said that everything was going to be fine no matter what and that he would help her fix the problem. But in this situation, all he could do was hold her close and treasure the last hug he would ever receive from her. He rubbed her back in a circular motion to soothe her breathing, something he had always done. For some reason, it only seemed to work for Europa—Io always protested Strom’s attempt to console her.

“I know, sweetie, I know you don’t want me to go. But I have to—I can’t get myself out of this.”

"You can do it, you know.” Storm stared at his oldest younger sister. Did she really have complete faith in him or was she just trying to keep up a good face like he was doing? He knew she wasn’t willing for his death but considering the circumstances, did she really believe that he could pull through it? There were so many strong tributes also in the arena; he was just a boy from a ranch. He could only wish that he would be overlooked by the masses and survive by keeping low.

As Europa kept nodding her head at Sundra’s words, Storm gave them both a small smile. It was so…cute. Perhaps the most inappropriate word to use at a time like that, but just seeing the two of them agree on something was inspiring to Storm. He didn’t have to worry about his family; Sundra would be there for the two younger ones.

Sundra grabbed Storm’s attention by saying his name alone. Looking into her eyes, he knew that she was going to be saying something serious, something she really meant. A slightly shaky “please” was followed by a solid “try.” In a form of acknowledgment, Storm nodded his head. If not for himself, he would try for his family. Even if he had already accepted that he was probably going to die in the arena, he would try for them.

“I will. I’ll try my hardest to come back to all of you.”

Storm stared at the wooden beads wrapped around his wrist. So many memories were stored in them and he didn’t know if he was ready to give them away. He had to, though; if he wanted his family to understand, he had to give it to them. Loosening the knot that held the two ends of the string together, Storm slipped the bracelet off his wrist. His thumb went over every bead, inspecting it, before he smiled and handed the bracelet to Europa. He might have given the bracelet to Europa, but he looked at Sundra when he said, “I want you girls to have this. I have no use of it in the Arena and I don’t even know if I can bring it with me. I would rather not have it and know it is safe with all of you than to have it lost forever. If Father asks, tell him that I still love him but I cannot bring it with me.”