Totoka River a snapshot in the family album

She opened her mouth, about to tell him that family stuck together, didn't leave--and promptly closed it, realizing that, if she did so, she would be a hypocrite. She had chosen to stay behind, to not remain by her brothers' sides. She was just as bad as Vaati, if not worse: he had presumably been looking for his siblings, licking his wounds, but she. . . Maegi had simply been selfish. That was all.

His words stung, not like fire but like ice, and she blinked slowly, trying to absorb the blow without breaking down in front of him. She had no parting words for him; before he could speak, he was gone, off like a ghost in the night. In a way he was a ghost; Maegi had thought him dead, and now struggled with his resurrection right here, in front of her.

Perhaps it would have been best if he had died, or at the very least, she had never seen him again. Now they both would have to grapple with the fact that they were changed, and not for the better. They would always be brother and sister. . .but no more would they enjoy the warm, unbreakable bond they had in Blackfeather Woods.

That kind of love between them was best left to memories, now.