Noctisardor Bypass the loxian gate

heda dragged a duck leg behind her. it flopped and smeared the ground with blood wherever the girl dropped it. this only persuaded heda to pause and to gnaw.
worripa had not come back. it had been weeks and her brother had not returned. the sharp pierce of loss had faded into a dull ache that only plagued her when the sun was low. curled alone she thought of her mother's face, how it had blurred into paleness, scars, silver eyes.
and how worripa's would do the same.
heda bit hard into the leg, suddenly, filled with a hateful anger, and then flung it into the bushes.
sides heaving, she turned around but found she was not alone, that druid was near. coughing. heda was not close enough to hear what her sister whispered after, but picked her way to the other's side, sitting down with a sigh.
"willam is my great-aunt," she said softly, still unsure of what it meant exactly for her, or for any of them.