The words stung like a dozen angry bees. Gaia knew her brother did not intend to hurt her. She knew he did not know the guilt she felt at being absent from her sibling's lives. When Iblis and Rhae perished, she had fled along with the others in the fallout, but not once did she try to bring her brothers and sister together. Not once did she seek them out to see how they were doing. Even now, their whereabouts were unknown to her. She was unaware of their families and the lives they had lived since that fateful day when their worlds fell apart. In fact, she could barely remember the names of the two cubs born shortly before their parent's death.

She didn't blame Cae for the words. They were the painful truth she needed to hear. Perhaps he understood a little of how she felt, but she remained quiet as he spoke. Her face remained passive as she managed to just barely hold back the flood of emotions she suddenly felt. Only when he was finished did she allow a single, shuttering sigh to escape her lips. "I think they would want us to do better, Cae." Turning to look at her brother, she offered a smile that didn't reached her eyes. "I want to be better. I think it's time I find our siblings and see how they are doing nowadays." Gaia didn't know until just then how much she truly missed her family.

Standing, she shook the loose debris from her pelt and gazed into the forest. Her stomach gave a loud groan as it protested the meager rations it had had that day. It would be time to hunt again soon. "Maybe that's what I'll do with the last few years I have left on this earth. Try to make amends for my cowardice and selfishness to the ones I love." It wasn't much, but it was a start. For now, she would try to gather as much information as she could about where her family was.

She already knew none of them resided within Spirane, else she would have scented them. No, she would need to travel far and wide to find them. Turning her head back to Cae, she tilted her head to the side. "What about you, brother? What will you do now that you have returned to Moladion?"





Sixteen - Loves none - Fated for none - Homeless
Eldest daughter of Iblis & Rhae