The Sentinels If—

A weight had been set upon her shoulders, one she had been expecting, though she had not known just how heavy it would be— and though doubts had crept into her mind in the weeks leading up to this day, they had not prepared her for the uncertainty that filled each fiber of her being. Still, she could not bear to let her sister down. And though Emaleth was quiet and withdrawn, there was a fire of ambition that burned within her breast. This was, perhaps, her time to rise and claim it.

She had little interest in her pack mates before— they were not of her blood, and therefore not worth her time— but the new responsibility had shifted her beliefs. If she were to lead them, she must know them as Deirdre did. And so the dark witch moved through the wood, feeling alive in the dusk, until she came upon a silhouette. Emaleth watched the insects move around it in the waning light, perhaps divining something from their pattern, and after a moment said, "Hello."