Blackfoot Forest Otherside

she was not keen on having yet another mouth to feed, even if it was a relative of their leader. another mouth required more hunting, and the land already held so little for them; no wonder their numbers had begun to dwindle. hosannah was eager to investigate this woman despite the rejection she had presented upon finding her - such kindness had been extended to this stranger, a kindness that aaron had once bestowed upon herself, and perhaps that similarity bothered her the most - but hosannah was not pleased. it was not her place to decide what the leaders did, but she would not let this foreign woman out of her sight; the priestess was determined to keep tabs upon her, tend to her if that kept up appearances, but in the long run she was determined to separate this hungry belly from the rest.

so once the woman had been tended to and sequestered for sleep, hosannah prowled. she found no herbs with which to aid the stranger (but did not look too hard in the dark corners of the forest), and was returning empty-handed to where she slept, when she heard it. a rustle, a gurgling as if someone was being choked, and a hissed word - and from the dark hosannah slunk, eerily silent, watchful, her hungry eyes deviating from the woman's features to the warm pile of sick that soaked the forest floor. hosannah did not get too close, but it was easy enough to see her red-furred figure among the naked trees, glowing like an altar candle.