Frantic meows burst through the air as black paws slipped from where they had been balanced, vision blurring and the sensation of smacking against the liquid's surface coursing through a tiny body. The lack of air and the coldness of the water suffocating, the sound of meows mixed with internal voices echoing out from the edge of the bridge that hung over the river. 

She couldn't see, she couldn't swim up, she could barely get a breath in, her head bobbing up and down in the water consuming her. This was it. This was the end. 

"SinB?"

The former black kitten's eyes shot open at the call of her name, her chest rising and falling quickly while sweat coated her forehead. It had just been a nightmare. Well, not exactly a nightmare. More like a flashback of something that couldn't be forgotten.  Sowon was standing over SinB and Yerin's shared bed, eyes full of worry. SinB finally caught her breath, thankful for the fresh air filling her lungs. Yerin was still asleep next to her, curled up into and covered in the blanket while being back to back with SinB.

"Are you okay?" Sowon had a hand on SinB's head, the girl's hair gently. "You were shaking and whimpering in your sleep."

"I'm fine." SinB gulped, trying to slow her racing heart down. Sowon didn't seem convinced.

"Don't hide things from me, SinB." The blonde sighed. It was morning and most of the girls were still asleep. She had woken up early and noticed the state SinB was in from the bed next to her and Umji's, taking no time to wake her up from what seemed like a traumatic nightmare. Thankfully, Yerin and Umji hadn't woken up in the process, even when Sowon had to untangle herself from Umji's limp arms.

SinB hadn't responded, eyes drifting downwards. Sowon wasn't about to let her go back to sleep. Carefully, Sowon helped SinB get up from the bed, making sure Yerin's sleep wasn't disturbed. Normally, a slight motion would be enough to wake the former ginger kitten up but this morning, there was no response to any of the bed's movement, Yerin's breathing being the only reaction. 

"Does this have anything to do with when I helped you wash your hair after the beach trip a few days ago?" Sowon asked as she helped SinB to the living room, wanting to continue the conversation where they could both speak at a normal volume.

SinB only remained silent, giving Sowon the obvious answer to her question. 

".....Do you want to talk about it?" She sat the younger girl down on the couch, sitting next to her and taking a blanket to wrap around both of them.

SinB nodded, allowing herself to scoot over closer to the taller. There was a long moment of silence, SinB trying to find the courage to speak.

"We were all trying to find a new place to stay," SinB started, her voice quieter than normal. Sowon held her hand tightly, listening attentively to every word. "We....crossed a bridge and I thought it would be fun to jump on the railing. It was so pretty out, I wanted to see everything better."

SinB swallowed, the sounds of the other girls frightened meows and the feeling of falling replaying in her mind.

"I guess the railing was way more slippery than I thought it was. I....." SinB's voice shook and Sowon placed a hand on her back, running it up and down. "I fell. I fell and the water was so cold. I heard everyone screaming in my head. I couldn't stay up. I kept getting dragged under. I thought.....I thought I was going to die."

"SinB....." Sowon whispered, pulling the girl close.

"Yerin....she saved me. She ran down to the side, swam to me and dragged me out with her teeth." SinB chuckled, finding comfort in the memory of the sight of the ginger kitten appearing in front of her in the water that day. "She didn't leave my side for the rest of that day. No one did."

"I don't blame them." Sowon said, not letting her hold on SinB go. "I would have done the same thing."

"I'm sorry." SinB mumbled.

"For what?" Sowon frowned, still running her hand up and down SinB's back. "I've told you before, you have nothing to be sorry about."

"I should have told you sooner." SinB let her head rest against Sowon's, feeling thankful for the girl's company. 

"Maybe. But at least you told me now. That's all that matters." Sowon hummed, taking a break from rubbing SinB's back to comb her fingers through dark hair. "I can make sure you're comfortable when bath time comes around again. I don't ever want you to feel afraid when I'm around. I'll help you through this fear." 

"....Sowon?" 

Both girls heads raised up at the voice, Umji was standing in front of them with one hand rubbing her eye while the other was still holding onto the arm of her stuffed fox.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Sowon smiled, removing the blanket from her shoulders to fully place around SinB. SinB had calmed down, yawning before taking her phone out to see what new dance practice videos were out for Sunrise. Sowon stood up and Umji's arms were around her within moments. 

"Did we wake you?"

Umji shook her head, giggling softly as Sowon returned the hug and swayed back and forth with the former brown striped kitten in her arms. Sowon placed a kiss on Umji's cheek, her smile refusing to stop. She loved when Umji wanted affection like this early in the morning. 

"Should we wake the others?" Sowon asked, looking over at SinB to get an answer as well. 

"Only if I get to wake up Eunha." SinB grinned mischievously, thinking of ways she could do so. 

"Be gentle, okay?" Sowon sighed, shaking her head but giving permission even so. Eunha was always waking SinB up, not caring about how grumpy it made her. A little friendly revenge couldn't hurt. And if it made SinB forget about her nightmare, it would be a good thing. Sorry Eunha.

"Can I wake up Yerin?" Umji asked, finally loosening her grip on Sowon. 

"Sure." Sowon agreed, watching SinB dart into Eunha and Yuju's shared room from the corner of her eye. "I'll wake up Yuju then, if SinB and Eunha don't on their own."

Umji gave Sowon one last tight hug before letting go, walking off happily to wake the sleeping princess known as Yerin. Sowon stretched, letting out a yawn of her own. What a start to the morning. 

By the time she had made her way to Yuju and Eunha's bedroom, SinB had already jumped on Eunha's sleeping form, slapping at Eunha's side forcefully with her rough hand. Eunha was whining, trying to push SinB off of her so she could continue sleeping. But SinB refused to give up, biting down on Eunha's shoulder. That did it. Eunha was up and grumpy, tackling SinB off the bed. 

Somehow, Yuju had grown accustom to the chaos, still sleeping even with the sound of Eunha and SinB tussling and yelling in the background. Sowon took a much calmer method to wake up Yuju, sitting next to the girl's sleeping form and shaking her shoulder.

"Yuju. Hey, Yuju." Sowon called, still shaking the former gray kitten's shoulder. It was slow but Yuju's eyes finally opened, the former gray kitten rolling over on her side before sleepily gazing up at Sowon. How adorable. 

"Good morning, Yuju." Sowon said before Yuju's arms were around her this time, pulling her close like a stuffed animal. Affection was common in the house now and Sowon really was starting to enjoy every second of it. It was almost unbelievable how she had gone from being afraid to be touched by anyone to letting five different girls hug and cuddle with her whenever they wanted to. 

"You're so mean, Sowon." Yuju pouted. "I was having a good dream."

"Oh really?" Sowon raised an eyebrow, lifting Yuju up so that the girl was sitting in her lap, straightening out Yuju's bangs so that they laid properly down over her forehead. "What was it about?"

".....Puppies. And a giant cake." Yuju mused, not wanting to move.

"A cake?" 

"Yeah. The puppies were eating the cake and they shared it with me." 

"Sounds like a great dream, for sure." Sowon laughed, fingers combing through Yuju's beautiful long hair. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Yuju yawned. "I like being here with you and everyone better." Sowon could feel her heart swell with warmth at that statement. 

"Sowon?" Umji had appeared in the doorway. It wouldn't have been much of a big deal for Umji to join them but Yerin wasn't by her side like Sowon had expected her to be. That's when she noticed the expression Umji was giving her. She looked scared, hands gripping at her own arms. 

"Yerin....Yerin's not waking up." 

Sowon felt her blood run cold with fear. Wasn't waking up? She had been breathing fine when SinB had gotten up so it wasn't like she was dead or anything. But she didn't move at all even when SinB had left her side. How could she not have seen how abnormal that was for Yerin? Yuju was fully awake now, looking at Umji and then Sowon with uncertainty.

"Keep them busy." Sowon whispered, gesturing to the still fighting Eunha and SinB on the floor. Yuju nodded, moving off of Sowon's lap. 

Sowon was quick to her feet, following behind Umji. The second they reached the other room, Sowon noticed just how off Yerin looked. Her breathing was shallow and her skin was flushed with redness, her bangs matted to her forehead with sweat. Was she having a nightmare too? No, this was different. Sowon sat on the bed, placing the back of her hand to Yerin's forehead while Umji looked on. Warm. Too warm. She was burning up in her sleep, hands twitching from where they laid on the bed.

"Yerin. Yerin." Letting her continue to sleep in this state wasn't an option anymore. Sowon took Yerin's face in her hand, gripping firmly at her shoulder with the other. A pained groan was the only sound that Yerin made, eyes still shut. Sowon was trying hard not to panic now. 

"Yerin! Please wake up." Umji had joined them, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes at any second. 

".....It hurts...." Yerin's voice weakly called out, her eyes opening briefly before shutting again. At least she was verbal. 

"What hurts?" Sowon was pulling the girl into her arms now, supporting Yerin's head with her hand and shoulder. "What hurts, Yerin?"

"E....Everything...." Yerin's voice was so quiet, her breath hot against Sowon's neck.

Now she was definitely panicking. Maybe not on the outside but Sowon's head was racing a million miles a second on the inside. Did she have any medicine? Did she need to take Yerin to the doctor? Could Yerin even handle being in such a strange and new place in this state? How had she even gotten sick? 

Calm down. Sowon thought to herself, trying to clear her mind. Freaking out would help nothing in this situation. It was most likely just a fever and nothing life threatening. She was breathing and able to speak. Getting her temperature down was the first step. 

"Umji, can you get Yuju for me?" Sowon turned her attention away from Yerin, knowing that Yuju could handle the situation the best. 

"But Yerin! What about Yerin?" Umji asked, clutching tightly onto Yerin's limp hand. 

"She'll be okay. I promise. I'll take care of her. I just need you to stay strong for her, okay?" Sowon kept her voice soft. "Just please get Yuju for me."

Umji hesitated, not wanting to leave Yerin's side. But she nodded, letting go of Yerin's hand to rub potential tears out of her eyes before running out of the