But that maturity (or maybe it was resignation) didn't completely dull the reflexive sting that accompanied being the target of someone else's talent.

Such a small, subconscious gesture, as if the ability was a seamless aspect of herself, second nature. The fierce flush of jealousy Indra had once felt upon making this observation was tempered by years of learning to navigate a world steeped in magic without the means to connect with it.

The relief was clear on Elena's face. "Thank you Indy." She held up a hand and produced a tiny gust of wind, blowing away a few stray leaves in Indra's hair. This resulted in individual strands of golden hair breaking loose from her long braid and standing aloft as if exposed to static electricity.

Indra halted a few feet up her escape route, eyeing her sister with faint irritation for a few seconds before giving up entirely and dropping to the ground again. "Alright, just because you shouldn't have to face Gwen and her massive ego alone," she relented.

Indra mulled over the situation for a moment, then responded with a "Nope" followed by beginning to scale the tree once more. "Not today."

Elena sighed, clearly exasperated. "I don't want to see her either but if we don't show up Mother will *never* let it go until the grave."

She also never missed an opportunity to remind Indra of her continued lack of a talent despite having reached adulthood, through offhanded comments about *very* late bloomers.

Indra did not have a very good relationship with Gwen, for obvious reasons.

Of her four siblings, Gwen was the eldest, with an ego to match. Her talent had emerged years ahead of the norm, eventually leading to an invitation to further develop her abilities at one of the more prestigious academies. And she never missed an opportunity to brag about it.

Indra groaned, heaving herself out of the tree and deftly landing next to her sister. Before she managed to get a word in Elena glanced over her shoulder, then leaned in conspiratorially. "Also Gwen's over for dinner tonight. She said she has some kind of announcement."

Oh, just wonderful.

It was impossible to stay irritated with the owner of the pair of wide olive-green eyes staring back up at her. "Sorry! Mom just wants you back with whatever you've caught today, right now." Of the couple of sisters younger than Indra, Elena was the nearest to herself in both age and closeness.

"Indraaaa!" The sound shattered the relative silence of the woods like a thunderbolt, and Indra watched with dismay as the deer jumped in alarm and *bolted* at top speed, disappearing into the thick stand of trees and foliage. She swore under her breath, sighing, then looked down at the culprit.

The deer, seemingly unaware of its rapidly approaching fate, moved a little closer to the tree Indra had settled into close to half an hour ago. She inwardly rejoiced; just a little closer and she'd have the perfect shot to take the unsuspecting animal out in one go.

#lunawrites

She hated when she failed to one-shot whatever her target was, leaving her to put the creature out of its misery with her own hands. It was, of course, just a part of life - her family needed to eat. That knowledge didn't lessen the unpleasantness of the situation, though.

#lunawrites

Indra moved ever so slightly, bowstring held taut and the deathly sharp tip of an arrow aimed to take the creature straight between the eyes. She envisioned a gruesome mental image of the arrow burying itself in the deer's flesh, lodged securely in its brain with enough force to kill it instantly.

But for Indra, whose bow had become an intrinsic part of herself over the years, it was only a minor challenge. She might as well have been another branch sprouting from the tree she was positioned in, eyes trained on the hart before her.

#lunawrites

Carefully, now. Perfect silence.

Around this time of the year all of the animals in the area tended to be on high alert, ready to flee at even the slight sound of a leaf landing on the forest floor. It made hunting a hassle for a large part of the village.

#lunawrites