What remains

She watched him work without saying anything. The silence here was not as bad as it har been inside the house. She could hear the dog's heart beat, accompanied by the occasional whimper as Nate cleaned the wound and dressed it. She felt the rise and fall of it's sides beneath her hands and was enthralled by the sight of if, of Nate's hands as he worked. They looked so big, at least twice the size of her own, yet moved very gently. A soft touch, to cause minimal distress... when had that happened? All Maea could recall was a brat of a lanky teen who nicked apples and distracted the dogs so that the sheep scattered into the grain fields. Was this really the same person? He spoke, and the girl almost flinched at the sound. But she nodded and tugged Frost a bit tighter; relief in her eyes even though she did not say anything. This was - har been - her brothers favorite dog. He har teased her about having the same hair color as the dog, and said that be would have to treat the dog like a sister now... and somehow 'little sister' had become the nickname everyone called Frost by. Now she was all that remained of the family. A wounded dog and an empty house, a barn full of dead sheep and some apple trees. And Maea. She sat up once the wound was taken care of, and followed Nate's gaze to the shadowy lumps that littered the floor. The thought of moving anything made her stomach twist painfully, but the knew as well as he what might happen if the bodies were allowed to rot. "I... Yes. It has to be done. Have to count them too, see how many... how many got away." She got slowly to her feet, wondering at how numb her limbs had become. The world spun around her, and Maea reached out to steady herself against whatever was nearest when her knees threatened to buckle under her weight. MAEA Sometimes darkness can show you the light