Firefly Glen these broken walls

skipping zeph this round!

zephyra offered only the silence of a curious look as the pair moved to wake anatolia. the sleeping girl roused all on her own though, and as the two girls settled amongst themselves, nephele moved to cradle them.

she took a moment to preen through each of the girl's fur, gentle kisses given to each before she sucked in a breath and prepared to rip off the band-aid that held together her shattered heart.

"i found your brother's scent," she started with, eyes darting between each of the girls, desperately trying to read the lines of their face. zephyra beamed with some hope, but what of ana?

she continued, "i followed it to the edge of a forest, and then to a river." her heartbeat was suddenly in her ears, the drumming banging against the inside of her skull as she tried to dull the creeping headache.

"i-," she endured the sudden nausea that washed over her, the sudden tsunami of expected disappointment from her daughters. what would they think of her? "i do not think he made it across."

would they understand what she indicated? would she have to say it in detail?

would she have to say it out loud? could she say it out loud?