Heron Lake Plateau Hard time forgiving Even harder forgetting

Kiwi lashed out at her and Bat's huge ears drifted backward, her body shrinking away half a step. She squinted, grasping for how to react to her sister's anger. There was a flare of indignation, quickly followed by a sense of resignation. Wildfire hadn't seemed to care too much about these details; she was too caught up in finding Bat again. Given a moment to think about it, Bat decided it wasn't unsurprising, nor even unfair as it felt in that first second.

"I tried to catch up with nomi's war party," Bat said, mumbling at first but then catching herself, clearing her throat and speaking more evenly. She felt a pang at the recollection, sad silver eyes combing Kiwi's face even as she continued. "But I never did. And it hit me that she left us. She took Ephraim but left her own kids. And mom." Bat swallowed thickly. This was hard to think about but Kiwi deserved an explanation. "I ran into Tegan again and he told me about scouting, so I decided to go with him. I just—I couldn't go back."

She shrugged listlessly, looking down at the ground and then back up at Kiwi again. She bit her lip. She'd done her best to answer, to explain herself to her sister. But what would she do with it?