This story is part of the Wanderer series.
Emerging from the mouth of the cave, Rin opened her eyes wide, observing the moonlit scenery. Past the few coniferous trunks that sheltered their hideout, the valley was still. Not a breeze could be heard. A familiar ridge could be seen in the distance, the steep, bare stone face splitting the carpeting trees, towering high above the horizon. Rin briefly drew her eyes back to the immediate surroundings, scanning the sparsely covered forest floor, before pulling her head back into the narrow cave. Dipping her head into her shoulders, she crawled backwards a few steps to where Nozomi was nestled.
“Yeah, I think the mountain is right there,” Rin grunted as she tried to turn herself without bumping her head. “We should be able to reach Karin and the others tomorrow and warn them.”
Nozomi, with her backpack still strapped on, did not immediately respond. She was sunk deep into it, with the pack snug against the rock and sitting above her shoulders. Eventually, she offered a muted grunt of acknowledgement.
Feeling for her pack, Rin unclipped her bedroll from her pack. “Let’s just hope she isn’t insane enough to take on an entire camp by herself.”
Nozomi raised her head. “You think she would?”
“I don’t know,” Rin grumbled, clearly crossed. “The girl is not right. She’s obsessed.”
Nozomi looked towards the cave entrance, moonlight illuminating her face.
“It’s quiet out there,” Rin assured. “And I don’t see any smoke coming from the direction of camp.”
Unfurling her roll on the stone floor, she wrestled her backpack towards the entrance and laid it flat at the end of her bed.
“I’ll watch first again, okay? Get some sleep.”
As she rustled into place, Rin looked up to see Nozomi had not moved. Still strapped into her pack, gazing outwards.
“… Nozomi?”
The pink-haired girl was unresponsive for a moment longer. Then, breathing out, she let her shoulders sink down. “That could’ve been me.”
Rin blinked. Uttering a closed-mouth murmur, she leaned back a little from her position on her roll. “… Huh?”
“If I didn’t meet everyone, would I be lost in vengeance like her?”
She was speechless for a moment. “What… What do you mean?”
Nozomi’s eyes dropped, following the pale lit ridges of the rocky floor. “If we’d known earlier that Tokiwa lost her father… could we have saved her from the hatred she’s going through now?”
Rin uncomfortably glanced off to the side, blinking a few times. “I…”
“I had everyone. All of you. Karin too. But Tokiwa…”
Narrowing her eyes even more, Rin then squeezed her eyes shut.
“She…’s so… alone.”
Rin suddenly glared at Nozomi. “Stop.”
Flinching slightly, Nozomi gazed back at her.
“I don’t want to hear it,” Rin demanded.
Nozomi widened her eyes at her sib’s anger.
“People are different. Put in the same position, they would not do the same things. You’re not the same kind of person as she is. Alone or not, you’re better than that. Don’t compare yourself with her.”
The edge in Rin’s voice made Nozomi sink into her pack.
“You wouldn’t do it,” Rin insisted. “You wouldn’t be going around killing people like she has.”
Pausing, she held her glare for a while. Nozomi shamefully dropped her eyes, contemplating her words.
“Maybe you’re right,” she eventually mustered.
With a heavy breath out, Rin rolled onto her belly and crossed her arms on top of her pack, tucking her chin into her forearms.
“You’re thinking too much about it. Hurry up and sleep, so I can sleep earlier.”