"Blair, are you leaving?" Juni's voice almost broke as she asked and she tried hard not to start crying. Too late though, the pre-sob breaths were already making it difficult to speak. Blair smiled as kindly as she could.
"I'll be back shortly. I'll even bring chocolate. How does that sound?" Though her voice was pleasant, she strained to say it, and her expression was much more regretful looking than the situation really warranted. They both stood there on the verge of tears simply because Blair had to go out of the house for a while. Juniper felt childish standing there, not wanting Blair to leave.
"For chocolate...okay." Juniper didn't meet Blair's eyes and spoke softly.
"I'll try and be back as soon as I can, okay?"
"May I make tea while you're gone?" Juniper asked.
"Yes, of course." Blair seemed relieved to answer that question, at least.

Juniper used to stand at the window to watch Blair leave, but certain things gave her strange feelings. Looking out the window caused what felt like a buildup of television static in her head. Sometimes it became so overpowering she needed to lay down. Things that made the static go away were things like books and tea. Smells and textures and tastes that she could attach herself to momentarily.
There were questions, sometimes. Like where she met Blair, or why she was living with Blair, when this woman was neither a relative nor someone she remembered ever meeting. Although, to be fair, if she tried to remember anyone the static got very loud. If she tried to remember places sometimes the static got loud too, but only if those places were distinct. General places, like a state or a city, she could thought about freely. Thinking of objects had no effect on the static that plagued her mind. She knew what a television was, although Blair did not own one. Blair also had a radio once, but the knobs on it got rusty and it disappeared shortly after that.

It didn't bother Juniper too much to not be able to remember things. She couldn't really tell how long it had been, anyway. Time was strange and difficult to capture. It was like smoke, running through her fingers, never to be caught or counted. It must not have been too long though, since she and Blair both looked relatively young.

She was content for the most part though, and Blair was a nice person. Blair bought her things like books and food, though all the dates were etched off of them. She would light inscence and let the pleasant smell linger throughout the entire house so long as Juniper was awake, some days. She would run bath water for Juniper and place petals on the water. They were for "cleansing", Blair had said. The baths were nice, but never felt quite hot enough.

There were some things Juniper was not allowed to do. She could not speak to guests. Blair rarely brought any over, but the ones she did barely acknowledged Juniper anyway. Some would look up as if a cat or dog had entered the room, but most just kept discussing. Juniper usually stayed in the library or went to sleep while that happened though, because it was no fun to listen to boring conversations about politics and the incredibly arbitrary rules Blair had to follow.

Juniper finished making a strong mint tea, but the flavors tasted more muddled than usual. Static was building up in her brain again even though she wasn't thinking about much. When it got too bad, she would go to sleep. Blair would happily greet her each time she woke up, and Juniper would always feel groggy and ask Blair to wake her up sooner next time. And Blair would always, with the most bittersweet look in her eyes,
"You looked too peaceful to wake up."
Juniper rubbed her temple and the static abated. She thought about finishing a book, or rummaging through the cabinets. An urge to go outside rose, but she crushed it before it became action. Every time she tried to open the door, her mind would be overwhelmed with a screaming kind of static, like several thunderstorms starting at once in her mind, and she would wake up later on.

Juniper was content in not knowing why.

Blair came home later that evening with a lady friend. Juniper could tell by the sound of their voices that the friend was upset and passionate about something.

Juniper could go to the library. She could read and stay out of Blair's way.

Juniper could stay and wait for the two to enter. She was promised chocolate, after all.