Broken Antler Fen Hey Mista Scott, whatcha gonna do?

for @Diantha perhaps? otherwise AW, assuming she's let back into Brech <3

The news that Jasmine was missing had unsettled her, but Lilitu stayed put. She'd done enough looking for sisters in her lifetime. If she wasn't able to find Arielle, her littermate, connected at the heart, then she sure as hell wouldn't be able to find a girl she'd never met.

So Brecheliant. She was back. 

She'd learned behind the scenes that Wraen, too, had passed, and she was wracked with quiet but deep mourning for the two women who had been so formative in her early years. No more embraces from her mother, nor stories from her aunt? It seemed unimaginable.

Thus, Lilitu launched herself into homely, mundane tasks, trying to distract herself from the constant weight on her heart. Today, she was padding along when she passed by Maia's den, and paused, wondering if one of her other siblings was about.

At least they had Maia—and she did, too, she supposed.

oh hi.

Diantha was convinced she was ready to be on her own. Nobody else was convinced, though. It was a real bummer, and she could not wait to be free of this stupid, fake, wretched place just as soon as she was good enough at hunting to do so. That was the practical reason she had been out and about today. Then again, whenever anybody offered to give her lessons, she turned them down. Diantha didn't need anybody. Now that Jasmine had left, she patiently waited for Roswell to abandon her, too.

"Let him," she thought bitterly. She didn't care about him anymore. He was just going to leave her like all the rest. It wasn't as though he made an attempt to get closer to her, and that pushed her away even further from her brother.

She was heading back to the den after (yet another) unsuccessful hunt when she spotted an unfamiliar face lurking outside. Hackles raised, she puffed herself up to look as big as she possibly could, then began growling, snapping, and making a big old fuss at the wolf she didn't recognize.

GET AWAY FROM MY HOME! she screamed at the top of her lungs.

A brown-cream girl emerged and Lilitu was taken aback, stepping away several steps. I. . . It took her a while to find her voice, and her jaw moved, trying to find the words.

Sorry, she said, apologizing with a dip of her head. She stepped back and looked at the young woman. Are you—one of Maia's children?

A roll of the dice, that one. Still, given that she'd been away, she wouldn't be able to tell her siblings from the rest. She briefly cursed herself for the absence before letting herself relax, waiting for the other's response. It would be telling—

Maybe. Unless Maia had told the other litter that they were her own.

Lilitu remained in place, smile etched, growing stiff.

She was quite pleased with herself, though Diantha was easily able to keep her ire going when the stranger asked if she was one of Maia's children.

No, my mom is dead! she declared, as if that were a totally normal thing to yell about at her age. Dia's teeth glistened in the afternoon light, still ivory white at her young age.

What are you doing here, anyway? I don't know you, and I don't think Maia likes strangers hanging around here. So scram!

She sucked in a breath, taking another step back. So fierce. She had been so fierce, at that age. Could probably muster the same ferocity, should the situation call for it. She hid her smile, tucking it away in a somber face, wanting so badly to embrace the girl—

Her sister. It had to be her sister.

My mama is dead, too, she replied, the words nearly sticking in her throat. She wasn't used to saying it; she wasn't used to it. She was still expecting Ibis to wander around the corner at any minute. And. . .Maia is a friend of mine. I'm no stranger.

Lilitu lowered herself, resting her forepaws out from her belly, her eyes kind. My mama's name was Ibis, she offered—and waited for the response with slightly bated breath.

Diantha squinted at the stranger. Maybe she was not a stranger to Maia, but she certainly was a stranger to Diantha. The girl had never met her (at least as far as she knew), and she was not about to make nice with her, either. It was not her style to do so. She huffed at her, then lashed her tail behind her.

But it was the last statement that caught Diantha's attention. Ibis was her own mother's name. Diantha was vaguely aware that she had older siblings, but she had thought they were all gone. Everybody else had left her and... well, this sibling would probably leave her, too. Best not to get attached.

You are just gonna leave again, Diantha stated. It was a matter of fact.