Silvertip Mountain the bells

the look in her brother's eyes nearly sends her into another spasm of grief. she's never seen it upon his countenance; it makes the situation all too real, and she quickly notes the presence of another before taking after her father, giving Merrick a brief nudge to the shoulder to turn him slightly in the right direction.

then, without another word, she leads her family down the mountain, moving through trees as swift and as hot-bright as a forest fire. 

when she bursts into the clear and onto open ground, she is at full gallop.