OOPS I thought I'd replied here already o.O
Word Count: 635
Yumiko chuckled at Anne's excitement as she practically struggled to remain upright. She also caught Leah's discreet, affectionate glance towards her friend, and saw in her eyes the love she had for her. It was like a bond only sisters shared, and Yumiko's smile faded softly as memories of her own sister came to mind. She missed her sister dearly, and hoped these two friends, siblings, whatever they were, could remain together and peacful for a long time to come.
Unfortunately, it would appear they had already met their fair share of hardship as they instantly closed up after her relatively innocent question. Yumiko cocked her head slightly at Anne's expression, as it flipped through all sorts of horrific emotions that all followed that of horror. Yumiko opened her mouth to apologize, for even though she had meant nothing of it she was the sort of wolf to apologize simply for bringing up bad memories. Before she could utter a word, Leah relaxed and Anne followed her lead, and despite her anxiety at upsetting the two Yumiko slumped as well.
The fire crackled in the uncomfortable silence and cast moving lights upon the rock behind the younger girls. Yumiko shivered as a cold breeze licked at her skin despite her fur, and she shifted a little closer to the fire to compensate. She moved her weight to the other foot in her crouched position, any possible sound covered by a twig exploding within the fire as it glowed. At last, after being to embaressed to do more than stare into the flames, Yumiko looked at Leah as she said they were as good as siblings. She nodded cautiously. "I can see that. You two are good for each other." It was as good as she could come up with for a discreet apology.
Suddenly the mood seemed to lift, albeit with a mighty shove from Anne, as she leaned towards Yumiko and whispered as if in on some big secret. Happy to be away from the drama, Yumiko helped her along, and whispered back dramatically, "Yes, we should offer her a sacrifice to apease this immortal being."
As if on cue to dispose of the idea, the 'immortal one' chucked a pebble that Yumiko had to lean back to avoid right at Anne. She fell onto her butt from her perch upon her haunches, and she laughed as her legs stretched out to one side of the fire. Anne gave a witty response, unworthy of the Great Immortal One's reply, before they both seemed to remember Yumiko was there. She didn't mind. It was nice to be in such pleasant company, and now the atmopshere was clear and joyous, and it was like nothing had ever occurred to make it in any way unpleasant.
But something had happened, and something was clearly tormenting the both of them (Leah more than Anne). Yumiko made her inner self vow to help them come to terms with whatever had happened, just like she had eventually come to grips with the murder of her parents. Sure, it was still hard for her, but she made it through and put on a brave face. She had grieved in her own way, in the privacy of the forest and her den. With just three small piles of rocks, deep in the forest, to mark their existance in the world, she had found peace within herself. Hopefully in time, so would these girls so young.
"Anything else? Uh... no, not really. Maybe some renovation projects I was hoping to finish." Yumiko shrugged, her hands supporting her on the ground. Another breeze passed through, threatening to extinguish the flames. "No point in being here any longer. Shall I show you the way?" she offered, adding her own unskillful subject change to the batch.
"Talk." Walk. Think.
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