Blacktail Deer Plateau i told you i didn't want to go to this dinner

she couldn't find them; had failed in her efforts to watch over them, a third parent alongside father and mother. she blamed herself for being so preoccupied with blueberry, who still lagged behind the rest of them, but not quite as much as she used to. blueberry, who now rivaled vesper in size and would soon overtake her.

something had shaken her from her dreams, and when she opened her eyes the hole left by the absence of prevost and peregrine was immediately palpable. she had taken a glance at her sleeping parents, then silently slipped away, eager to bring her siblings home before mou and maegi would need to worry. she did her best to follow their scent, searching for signs of their passage through their makeshift home, but they were long gone— and a tapestry of other, wild scents covered their trail. she lost them completely somewhere near the river's edge, and she knew better than to cross alone.

vesper was on her way back to the den, panic in her throat as she ran, not thinking to call for her parents or let them know she was safe, only focused on getting to them and telling them her brother and sister were gone. when mother's voice rang out, the dark child altered her course and very nearly crashed into her a few heartbeats later.

sides heaving, clearly distressed, the child tried to tell her— mama, they... they gone. she looked up at her mother, sorrow in her eyes. past the river. i can't... can't find them... i'm sorry. vesper whined, searching for comfort, for news that she was wrong and that mother knew where they were, but deep down she knew maegi had no answers. mama, i'm sorry.