Phoenix Maplewood Remember When

She hadn't expected the poison in Desna's voice, or the obvious hurt emblazoned on her face when she turned to look at Nanook again. Her sister finally gave her what she wanted, yet every word brought a downward tug at the corners of her mouth that Nanook couldn't control. "That's not - " but talking was like opening the floodgates to the floe of everything inside, and her chest burned with a fire that caught her refute in her throat.

Nanook hovered even when Desna turned her back on her, and in that moment a deeper pain twisted inside. Desna didn't try to pull her close; instead, she pushed her away, which was what Nanook wanted, but not like this. She wanted, needed her sister, but she froze on every ounce of fear and doubt that held her back from barreling forward and burying her face into the fur on Desna's neck in a sobbing mess. Her heartbeat quickened, but Nanook remained rigid as ice, like the polar child she'd been crowned to be.

She had thought it would be better to be alone, but now she felt an icy grip on her heart at the sudden awareness of just how alone she was. The world expanded before her, and her breath grew ragged. A dull pain throbbed at the front of her skull, and before she could think of how she could fix whatever she'd broken now, Nanook spun, turned her back on Desna, and tore off into the Maplewood.