Moonspear I'm the biggest, the best, better than the rest

It wasn’t her sister’s howl that brought forth the young mountain-dweller but the commotion—the impact. Yama was not far when her parents fell, lurking amongst the trees, just as she always was. Her day had begun with a carefree air to it, lackluster but easy. As her day progressed, it’d continued just like that, too; there was nothing to concern her with, mind put at ease by the fresh air. But life was always moving forward and the world ever-changing—things that existed one second might be gone the next, without warning, and there was nothing to be done to change that. It was simply the way of nature, life and death, always changing, always evolving. But… not all changes were good, not all existed to appease those that witnessed them. Some changes, ever so grand, occurred to bring harm; an ache that could not be soothed, a heart that could not be mended.

And this—this realisation—it hit her all too hard as she entered the scene.

Yama didn’t know what was wrong, not at first; she couldn’t fully comprehend the reason for her elder sister’s howl or why everyone was gathering, nor did she know why her parents seemed to be at the heart of it all—only, deep down, she did know. As she felt her stomach clench and twist and her heart break, she knew. She knew, as much as she wished she didn’t, and couldn’t help but drift forward; she did not run or rush in the slightest, she merely crept forward, legs stiff and steps light. And just as she reached them, everything suddenly came crashing down around her, her world turning and the light behind her eyes dimming.

Then, finally, the dam broke—

“Mama… Papa…” she choked out, all of the air in her lungs suddenly just gone. She didn’t want to believe it, she just wanted to go to sleep and wake up and see that none of this was real. Mama and Papa were still alive and watching over the mountain, watching over her and her siblings—they weren’t gone, they couldn’t be. It just wasn’t possible—they were the strongest wolves she knew, they weren’t allowed to die. But, as much as she wished it, she couldn’t change what had happened. She couldn’t close her eyes and wish it all away, or even force herself to believe that it was just a dream, because it wasn’t.

This was reality.

This was her reality.

And Yama, poor Yama... all she could do was shut down.