Aishla followed obediently, doing her best not to notice the small girl on the floor and the grieving couple looming over her body. The sisters remained silent, aside from Shytora's traditional phrases. It was good to be outside again. The air was cold here, as far as Aishla knew this was the farthest north the tribe had ever traveled. Winter here would be difficult. She sat on the log opposite her sister, moving in reflex rather than conscious thought. Her sister's hands moved quickly among her various tools. It reminded her hours spent on wasted lessons in her mother's hope that both daughters would be wise women. That wasn't a comfortable memory.

[I]" Are you eating enough? You look weak. A scout should be strong!" [/I] Aishla looked up and blinked at her sister then frowned, dropping her gaze back to Shytora's hands. If it was mockery, it stung coming from her own sister. She involuntarily crossed her arms over an all-to un-rounded stomach.

[I]"I came here out of respect for tradition, not to be chided at by my younger sister."[/i] If that was the part she was going to play, Aishla would simply leave. More tensions here would distract her out there, time was too short for that.