Northstar Vale There’s So[M]ething Going on and It’s Happening Now

Lilitu had just been drifting off into a nap when the wail ripped open the edge of her dreams. It was a terrible sound, the most awful thing she'd ever heard, and she startled upright, bristling. Her initial thought was to hide from the racket, but curiosity got the best of her. It always did.

Oh, but how she would regret this small voyage.

It was Hotaru's cries that summoned her, and the smell that rose up to meet Lilitu upon arrival was horrendous. She gagged, craned her neck around the gathered wolves, and then gasped.

The mean woman. Bloodied and still, decaying in the earth.

She turned to her friend. 'Mama,' she was sobbing. And piercing through even her utter dislike of the woman who had scorned her so was a deep-seated heartache for Hotaru. To see such a sweet girl so sad. . .

Shhh, she murmured, seeking to soothe. Also to quiet the noise, which was hurting her ears, but that was very much a secondary mission. She drew close to the pale children, eyes soft but confused.