Gentle Leaf was so confused. She didn’t know why Auntie Seong was so scared last night. She didn’t know why Seong was up so early. And right now she was confused why her aunt was in her guest bedroom frantically packing her saddlebags and a small suitcase.

-Why is she packing my stuff already? We just finished unpacking!-

The little filly waddled over to the kirin, evidently taking the latter by surprise due to how much Seong flinched and spun around. Instantly Gentle Leaf knew something was very wrong. Seong’s mane was frayed and she was sweating heavily under heaving breath. Still, Seong did make an attempt to look and sound presentable as she brushed a few bangs away from her eyes and kept her voice down despite it shaking.

“Oh h-hello sweetheart! Didn’t mean to wake you.”

Taking her little chalk board she carried around out, the filly scribbled and held up a message.

-”What’s going on Auntie? Why are you packing?”-

“Oh I just need to head out of town for a day.”

-”But I just got here! Why?”-

“I n-need to take care of something, something very very important.”

-”Why?”-

Seong’s eye twitched as she zipped up the now loaded saddlebag.

“Because something unexpected came up. I promise I’ll spend lots of time with you when I get back. I just need to take a day trip.”

Gentle Leaf’s eyes beamed as she gave a little gasp, coming to a logical if faulty conclusion.

-”Oh! So you’re packing my stuff so I can go with you! I wanna help I wanna help!”-

Seong’s response wasn’t nearly as joyful as Gentle Leaf expected. It was actually exactly what finally convinced the filly something was very, very wrong. Ki Seong shouted at her.

“ANI GENTLE LEAF!”
(“NO GENTLE LEAF!”)

The kirin roared with a stressed snap, causing Gentle Leaf to cower down and quiver. For a minute the only sound in the room was their labored breathing. Seong didn’t even bother to fix her bangs again when she saw how scared and saddened her beloved niece’s quivering eyes were; even if it was the kirin’s eyes which were stung with the salt of stressed tears. She slowly moved forward, controlling her breath as she pulled the filly into a tight embrace. Feeling her aunt’s warmth and heart beat, Gentle Leaf’s panic slowly waned away. She returned the hug, wrapping her hooves around Ki Seong’s collar and neck as she wondered why Seong was hugging her like she thought it would be their last.

“I’m so sorry. It’ll all be okay, I promise… I won’t be gone long.”

Gentle Leaf looked up at the kirin, hiding the choking sense of dread gripping her.