Moonspear a hunt

In her mouth was a small weasel Sialuk had managed to catch earlier that day. She had killed it with the purpose of honoring the dead, but when she picked up Elke's trail, she veered off and thought better of her original idea. Both Elke's mother and sister had gone missing, and Sialuk could not begin to imagine the hurt she must be feeling. Already she had lost her home, and now her mother and sister had disappeared. Sialuk had not asked the bones about them, fearing that they would tell her something terrible. If they did, she would not want to hide it from Elke, but she also did not want to cause the girl any more distress.

When she caught up to Elke, it was clear that her peer had not been taking care of herself. With nobody else to take care of her, Sialuk could not blame her. Gently, she touched her cousin's shoulder and placed the small weasel at her feet.

You need to keep your strength, she said.