Alone

One

"Do you want to hear another story about mom?"
"Ha! You don't even know what you're talking about when you tell those."
"Hey!" Dart gave Twist a gentle shove. "I totally know what I'm talking about!"
Twist laughed and stumbled upright. "Sure.."
Dart stuck her tongue out at her sister, but said nothing more. They sat silently for a long while, staring at the forest from the tree they were perched in. Twist closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest. She let herself get lost in the chirps of the robins nearby, trying to imagine what kinds of conversations they must be having.
"Probably talking about worms.." she muttered.
"What?" Dart looked over at her. "You're thinking out loud again."
Twist frowned and looked away self-consciously. "Sorry." Dart layer her tail across her sister's back.
"Hey. Don't feel bad." She murmured. Twist smiled.
"Anyway.." Dart grinned and sprang down onto a tree branch below, then to the ground. "I'm pretty hungry." Twist smiled back and followed her sister. "Then I guess we should get you fed."

...

Twist and Dart padded through the forest, prey between their jaws. Twist held a juicy robin, it's feathers making her gag. Dart held a squirrel, which slipped out of her mouth every time she laughed at her sister's feather issue. Finally, they stopped at a small hollow in the ground. Twist dropped the raven, sputtering and coughing. Dart looked on for a moment, giggling.
"A-are you okay?" She managed to say past her laughter. Twist grinned, spitting out feather tufts.
"Yeah. And you? You look like you're going to pass out." Twist poked her sister, who laughed again and swayed on her feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Maybe you should eat."
"You worry too much!"
Twist lead Dart into their den, a gentle tail on her back. "No, I worry just enough."
The small den had been the home of the sisters for their entire lives. It was where they were born. Dart liked to think it would be where they would die. She remembered the old, cramped space it was years ago, and smiled at the way it was now. Dart and Twist had spent years scooping out the ground , expanding the small area until it was big enough for both of them. Now, Dart settled down in her nest of moss and old leaves, smiling up at Twist, who was still gazing at her with concern. She laughed a little.
"Wow, you remind me of mom." She mewed. Twist rolled her eyes.
"You don't even remember mom!"
Dart made an effort to look offended. "Yes I do!"
Twist rolled her eyes again. "You can't. Mom died when we were five months old."
The words hurt Dart more than she'd like to admit. She always considered herself the one who had been more attached to their mother, and the one who would surely remember her, even after her death. It always felt like a harsh reality check when Twist reminded her that she didn't really remember her mother that well, no matter how badly she wanted to. She always found herself trying to fill the empty space that came with the loss of her mother with any possible memory she had of her. That usually meant sharing any story with Twist that she could possibly remember. Twist always rolled her eyes, just as she was doing now. Dart always tried to convince her. It never worked.
"Dart? Are you listening?" Twist's words brought Dart out of her thoughts. She smiled.
"Yeah."
"Then what did I say?" Twist asked.
"Um.." Dart grinned wider. "That I'm an idiot?"
Twist laughed. "Go to sleep, Dart."
Dart closed her eyes, her sister's face staying in her mind as she drifted to sleep.