It was quiet in the Ministry. In the short time that Phantom had been living there, he had come to find he rather enjoyed when the marbled halls were quiet. He liked his new siblings, maybe even loved them already, but he found their constant noise overwhelming sometimes. His favorite escape was to hide in the choir loft with a book about graveyard hauntings. It had taken awhile for his new brothers and sisters to not come looking for him. Cumulus had been the first to intuit that he perhaps just needed some space to get used to all the changes for him since his arrival.
He had been extremely grateful for her understanding. Phantom had spent so long in isolation, the silence his only companion, that the sudden, constant noise and sounds of his new siblings overwhelmed his senses. But he knew they meant well. That they only wanted to include him, to get to know him. He had vowed he wouldn’t shut them out, that he would give them all a proper chance.
And he was. He just needed a break every now and again…
A high-pitched croak sounded from below. Phantom didn’t need to look to know it was Cirrus with her toad. She could not be separated from that vile thing since she found it. He knew she would not make a sound, nor approach him. And not out of fear, he just knew that, on occasion, she passed through the spaces she knew he liked to hide in, to check on him. He had found it unnerving the first few times, but now he grew fond of the moments. She was doing her best to give him his space, but also wanted him to know she was nearby if he needed a companion.
As the shadows moved across the hall, Phantom began to realize his eyes were growing heavy. And he also felt the starting pangs of loneliness, a true surprise. He pulled himself from the cubby in which he’d hid himself and began to wander back towards he and his siblings’ quarters. He was surprised to find himself wondering what they had all been up to all day.
Papa’s voice was echoing down the marble corridor as Phantom neared their room, it must have been later than he thought. He picked up the pace, moving into a trot, not wanting to be left out. When he slid into the room, Phantom thought he went unnoticed. His siblings were all piling into a jumble as Papa settled himself into his chair with a big, black leather bound book in his lap. Sunshine was reclined against Rain as she braided Cumulus’ hair. Cirrus was snuggled into Cumulus as she played with her little toad in his box. Rain had his head against Papa’s knee, and Mountain’s head was in his lap. Dewdrop, trying to pretend he was getting too old for this, sat on the edge, bouncing his little blue rubber ball against a wall. The only tell that he was still into sibling snuggle time while Papa read them stories was that he had Mountain’s legs draped over his own.
When Cirrus saw Phantom, she eagerly scooted herself over, leaving a space for him between her and Rain. He hesitated briefly, and Cirrus wiggled her fingers at him eagerly, beckoning him. Feeling a bit self-conscious, Phantom stepped carefully over other siblings and wedged himself down between Cirrus and Rain. Before he could give it a second thought, Cirrus leaned into him instead of Cumulus. Rain melted into him as well, leaning his direction instead of Papa’s. Sunshine’s foot appeared in his lap, Mountain’s pinky laced through his own.
His siblings were melting into him, and for the first time, Phantom allowed himself to melt back into them.
Inktober 2023, Prompt #9: BOUNCE
Whitney Writes... 
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