Sisterly CareNSFW

Three light raps sounded, sharp and small. A familiar voice called out. "Reya?"

Reya glanced up at the door, setting down her pen in her notebook. Odd for her little sister to visit out of the blue like this without warning, but... "Come in, Chloe."

The smaller cat had reddened eyes and a sniffle, suggesting recent crying. Big sister mode was necessary. Reya hoisted herself out of her chair, pulling her younger sister into a crushing hug. The two sisters stood that way for a while, Chloe's hot tears silently soaking into her older sister's vest, through it, through her shirt.

It was at least ten minutes later that the two sat on the bed. Reya set a bag of popcorn popping in the microwave, then returned her attention to her little sister. "Talk to me."

"I can't control it," Chloe blubbered. "Aunt Marita always told me... you have to control the hunger. You can't let it control you. And I can't control it."

Sounds like post-meal guilt, Reya thought. Sure enough, looking down, Chloe's stomach was faintly bloated, the paunchy remains of an earlier meal. But since when has Chloe ever shown post-meal guilt?

Fearing the silence, Chloe continued on her own, dabbing at her eyes. "I- I saw Marnie again. This weekend."

Oh no... Reya winced. She already had a good idea of where this story was going.

"We were so looking forward to her visit, especially because it might not have happened because I was sick for so long, and then her train came in on Friday afternoon, and I just... I just couldn't..." Chloe accepted a proffered tissue, blowing her nose loudly. "I ate her Friday night. I fantasized all day about eating her... what she'd taste like, how she'd squirm... and then... I just ate her. I tried to stop it, I really did. But it was too strong. She was my best friend in high school, and I just ate her like an average midnight snack. And I- I didn't let her out. I couldn't. I wanted to, I really did, but whenever I got close..." She gestured emptily at the air in front of her. "Couldn't. She probably melted into a puddle of hatred for me."

Reya put her arm around her sister, reaching her other arm out to turn off the microwave and pull out its delicious buttery, salty contents. "Here."

"I'm not hungry," Chloe murmured.

"Doesn't matter, come on, eat," Reya said. "Butter and salt, does wonders for any bad mood. Plus it makes you thirsty, and you're gonna need a big drink."

Chloe reluctantly grabbed a handful of kernels, stuffing them in her mouth and chewing. "Heh. Hehps."

"Yeah, it does," Reya agreed. She grabbed a cold water bottle from the minifridge, handed it to her sister, and leaned back on her hands. "You were sick for a long time, huh?"

"Yeah." Chloe sniffled, uncapping the water bottle and drinking a long swig. "I was throwing up for like a week and a half... it was gross."

Reya reached over, rubbing her little sister's back soothingly. "You must have been starving."

"Nn..." Chloe closed her eyes, remembering. "... yeah. It was really bad. I couldn't keep anything down except a few saltines..."

The older cat gave her younger sister a soft smile. "She cares about you, Marnie. Right? Wants you to be happy?"

"She used to."

Right, awkward... "Well... uh, if one of your friends had been crawling through a desert for a month, no food, barely any water, and she came out and you were the first person she saw, and she grabbed you and shoved you in..."

Immediate response, before Reya could even get the question out. "I'd want to get out."

How are you my sister, Reya asked the dorm room's ceiling fan. Aloud, she said, "Right... but would you be mad at her? Would you think she failed to control herself?"

"I..." Chloe's smile was small but present. "Probably not. I mean... she hasn't eaten for a month. I can't blame her for just... y-you know, I read in Biology I that the subconscious mind guides us to our needs. Her subconscious mind was probably yelling at her to eat something, anything. And that happened to be me, I guess. She needed it."

"She needed you," Reya agreed. "And if you couldn't get out? Would you resent her for all time?" she prompted.

"... No," Chloe murmured into her water bottle. She took another handful of popcorn, crunching it. She repeated her statement, stronger this time. "No. I'd be glad she got what she needed, even if... it had to be me."

Reya smiled proudly. Okay, now we sound a bit more like each other. Course... I would enjoy the visit even if nothing happened... "Chlo, you can't stop yourself from being hungry. You can't stop yourself from needing to eat. And, yeah, maybe you wish it would've gone different with you two. But if it was me, and my best friend needed to eat me to get healthy again? I'd feel nothing but compassion for her."

"It's pitiful," Chloe whispered. "That I couldn't eat anything else. That I had to go for her. If she doesn't hate me, she thinks I'm pathetic. That's what you mean, isn't it? That you'd feel like she was pathetic."

Okay, rude, some of us have to rely on backstabbing to get anything to eat... Reya reached out a hand, sliding her younger sister closer. "All the better she was there when you needed her, huh? You're a tough girl. You need a lot of living meals to maintain all that muscle." She slid that hand up, grabbing her younger sister's bicep. "A week and a half on a few Saltines... Anyone would be exhausted and weak after all that."

Chloe didn't answer, clutching her knees to her chest.

"And with you as weak as all that, she could have just walked away," Reya added. "Could have just climbed out of you and slammed the door to your dorm room in your face. But she didn't."

"She tried to stop me, but... she didn't leave," Chloe admitted. She leaned her head against Reya's shoulder wearily.

Reya nodded. "There's something nice to being... wanted. To being needed so strongly like that. Sure, it's nicer if it's because you're special."

"She was special," Chloe said, her throat squeezing up, on the verge of tears again. "Still is..."

"And I think she knows that," Reya murmured. "But you were gentle with her, weren't you? You told her you wanted to let her out, but you couldn't."

Chloe nodded mutely.

"You didn't hurt her more than you needed to. You needed her, and she was there for you. You held her as long as you could. You gave her what you could - the soft rubs, the gentle hugs. And you appreciated her for what she gave you."

Nod.

"And now she's with you for good. Always by your side... Every friendship ends someday," Reya mused. "I can think of few better ways for one to end than to become a permanent part of you and help get you out of a bad slump." She lightly elbowed her sister in the ribs. "Marnie, she was never the toughest cookie. College was always gonna be hard on her. Someone was always gonna get her. Better it's you than some stranger who won't even appreciate her, right?"

This time Chloe gave a halfhearted shrug.

"I think so." Reya took the empty popcorn bag from her sister, tossing it in the trash (though not without taking a few licks of the salt from the inside). "You took her to fulfill what you needed. She gave you herself because you needed her and she cared about you. You were kind to her in return. Tell me what you did wrong there."

"I lost control," Chloe said immediately.

Reya shook her head firmly. "There's nothing wrong with losing control sometimes. Actually... it can be kind of nice." She thought back to fond memories in the endo club, a wistful smile crossing her face. Still more were yet to be made, but... "To let go and let things happen to you a little, instead of always forcing them to happen when and how you want them to." She turned toward Chloe, tilting her head. "Besides... you were still in control, at least a little. Weren't you? You could have crushed her to satisfy your needs. Or tormented her. That's what you'd normally do."

"I think I should be insulted," Chloe said with a wet laugh.

"Well? Am I wrong?" Reya laughed loudly beside her. "... But you didn't. You didn't do any of that. You let her melt slowly, naturally, comfortably. The kind of ending a prey can only dream of."

"You would know," Chloe joked, another bark of laughter bursting out of her.

Reya rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "And now she's part of you and you're going to take good care of her. Aren't you?"

Chloe nodded once more, more decisively this time.

"So then. Sounds like you did everything right to me."

Chloe's whole body shuddered with a cathartic sigh. "... Yeah... maybe you're right."

"You can stay here tonight if you want, Chlo. I know it can be scary being alone in your head at night. I have an extra bed, so you've got room" Reya squeezed her sister's knee. "I'll be working on bastard math homework, but you can chill and play games or read or whatever if you want. Like back home."

"Sounds nice," Chloe admitted. "... Yeah. I'll stay here tonight. Thanks, sis..."

Reya's warm smile helped chase away the last of the guilty chills. "Anytime."