Bearclaw Valley A Feast for All!

*Throws crying children at Scarlett*

Tiny fangs met their target. The soft down of her sister's face, still ripe with the innocence of a child, brushed against Nanook's widened jaws. Time seemed to enter a different dimension. Everything was slow, yet everything was fast, and even she couldn't stop her teeth from sinking further. Past the state of play and childish anger. Piercing into the soft flesh of her sister's face. A choking trickle of liquid streamed down Nanook's throat, and she gagged as its warm metallic taste swarmed her tongue.

A shriek distorted the air, a voice that sent tremors along every muscle and taut sinew. A pressure snapped around Nanook's neck and with a yelp she released her purchase on Desna's face. The world spun, trees and grass amass with flecks of black and white and blurry forms she couldn't name. The ground came fast, and mama's scent overwhelmed her just as the same jaws that carried her grazed her face with sharp reprimand.

Nanook yelped and drew back and pawed at her face. Her body pulsed with flashes of heat, and her simple thoughts fluxed with anger and confusion and the overwhelming urge to hide. Mama growled, and Xan fought back, but Nanook only stared at the ground, consumed by her sea of emotions. The echoes of everyone, once so surreal, drew to reality at a snail's crawl. The speckled world grew and bright, and Nanook's breathing grew shallow and quick. Reality dawned. Mama and papa's voice became more than a garbled mess, and every word from Xan, and every cry from her sister.

It was too much.

Her shallow breaths grew fast and the world spun again. She couldn't stay here. She had to get out. Without thinking, Nanook risked her mother's wrath and tore away. Not for the food, and not for papa. The ashen Apaata tripped over her paws, but didn't stop. The den had never been so far away, and when she reached the opening, she let the darkness swallowed her whole. There were too many eyes, too many voices. The metallic sting still stung her throat, the taste of her sister's blood, and Nanook shoved her shivering self into her secret corner and curled herself tight. Desna had taken her food. She deserved to be punished, not her. But Desna's weeping still shook Nanook, and mama's anger. What had she done wrong? Confusion and anger and fear tripped her breath, and she squeezed her eyes tight until her ragged sobs ran dry.