All I have left
Hiding underground has never been one of my favorite experiences. The smell of wet earth and too many close bodies suffocates me. Nissa presses me to the back of the burrow and I can feel how skinny she's become in the last year. My heart hurts and I silently promise to bargain for more meat this week. We’d been placed in a hunting party. Nissa and I were tasked with foraging for roots, berries, and nuts and the two men are hunters. The wispy scarf I wore does nothing to keep the debris from scuttling down my back, feeling too much like spiders for my liking. Eventually, the footfalls fade and it is time to leave the den. Cameron is the younger of the hunters and his sandy blond curls do nothing to hide the malice in his eyes. He was all too excited when Nissa was placed on the foraging team and I don’t want to see what his attentions bring my sister. Nissa is both beautiful and innocent, which seems to get us into more trouble than one would think. Next to her, I am calloused and skeptical. My hair is course compared to her flowing locks and though I am older, I have always been shorter. My body was made for working while hers sings the song of motherhood and lovemaking. Grunting he motions towards the entryway pulling Nissa by the hand. My feet don’t want to work after sitting in that damn den for so long, but there is no time to let them re-acclimate to blood flow. Cameron and the second hunter, Tallon lead the way and are not looking for any input from the women. Which is fine by me, I prefer to hang back and keep our distance from the brutes.