Blackfeather Woods water's thicker than blood, but blood is sticky

She was still grappling with the fact that @Vaati had suddenly reappeared. A large part of her had never expected to see him again, and a smaller part of that idea wanted never to see him again. But the tiny, selfish wish had been denied, and so here they were. Back to where they'd started. Back to the beginning.

It wasn't, though. Not the beginning. It would never be so again.

Life had taken its toll on the both of them, with Maegi's face half-tattered and Vaati's body withered away, like a dying flower that had once been bold, beautiful. He was no longer her fearsome brute of a brother that could do no wrong; she was no longer the inquisitive little princess of the forest. And yet, something within him, his presence here, brought it out in her.

She felt lighter. Younger. Less weighed down. And although she knew that it wouldn't last (and would discover more tragedy sooner than she could anticipate) she relished it for what it was—an illusion. A wonderful, stupid illusion.

Maegi called for Vaati and then sat near the center of the Redgrove, eyes lifting to follow the movement of the crows above. Blue was settled on a low branch, and when her howl faded, he fluttered down to perch on her left shoulder, tough for as scrawny as it was.