Bearclaw Valley Ghosts of our past

Nanook didn't know what she wanted from Desna, but knew with full conviction her apology were the only words she could say. The distance she had put between herself and her family only drove her guilt deeper, and returning couldn't reverse the blame. Not for ma's death, nor for their split anymore, but for turning her back on the family she had lost with the thought she was saving them. How much had her departure been the final tooth in the throat? And how much had she ruined Desna in the process?

She could never forgive herself, and maybe Desna couldn't forgive her, too. Her heart quickened the longer the silence came from her sister's mouth. This was a mistake, and Nanook found herself planning her escape. She knew how to run, and though she would have to sprint to get to the woods, the rogue hoped her sister wouldn't know the forest like Nanook knew the stars.

So she tensed when a sound finally fell from Desna's lips, and she prepared to pull away - but instead, she nearly choked, and felt a weight and a levity weigh her shoulders down. I forgive you. And she waited for more - yet nothing came, and Nanook felt her mouth part with stunned confusion. There had to be something else, some work for her to do to right her wrongs, if any work could cover what she had put her sister through. The darkness remained, thick and heavy, and a pitched whine pushed from her throat.

Desna had done nothing wrong, and yet she apologized, a move Nanook didn't understand. And, unlike her sister, she did not have the social grace to know how to respond. But she knew she had missed her sister - her whole family - more than anything in the world, and to have her feel the same pang of guilt was more than she could bear. "You didn't..."  Her voice caught, and she pushed her snout against the back of Desna's neck, burying her nose in her fur. "I missed you, too." But confusion still rang thick in her head and, after a moment, she pulled away, distress written in the furrow of her brow. "But I don't understand. How can you just... forgive me?" she demanded. Her voice strained. She so desperately wanted to accept her sister's words, but the dark clouds of guilt still pressed so heavy on her chest.