She'd been sleeping by herself – she much preferred that now that the days were getting warmer, no one to share the space with or wake her up nagging – curled up under the low, evergreen tree that had become one of her favorite places within the Woodlands. She'd had no plans of getting up any time soon, but it seemed even here, those pestering others would find her and draw her out of her snooze. Blinking open heavy lids, the fiery girl bared her teeth, quickly zeroing in on the approaching figure, confirming what she had already deducted from the voice. "What?" She snarled at her brother, voice hoarse from sleep and rugged with her annoyance at being woken up; "Don't you have anything better t' do?" But no, Cináed seemed dedicated to ruining her days, chewing her out whenever he got the chance.

Now she shook out her wild, russet coat, getting to her feet to square off against the boy. He might be taller than her, but she had a considerable amount of bulk of her own to pit against him, and she wasn't afraid to put it to use. "What'a you want Cin?" She grumbled, meeting his eyes with vibrant irritation in her own; Can't you see I'm busy? Catching up on some much needed rest too, having been out exploring on till late the previous night. And she would much rather be sleeping than argue with her overzealous brother, who would surely have a problem with… Everything! He apparently considered it his highest duty to criticize anything she did or didn't do; Why can't you just mind your own busyness?!

Why was he always doing this? It was an endless prosecution, always being on her case for not doing enough, not doing what he was doing; We can't all be perfect like you..! Yellowed teeth remained bared in a silent sneer, amber eyes fixed on her brother, dark and imposing, but she wasn't scared; You're not dad! No matter how much he liked to pretend. And he certainly didn't hesitate today either, giving that same old speech, accusing her of being irresponsible; What else is new?! Still, though she didn't show it, the comments hurt, like they always did.

She could defend herself, there were maybe a thousand things she could say to counter his accusations; There are better things than PATROLS to keep everyone safe! She'd accosted that stranger, the witch sniffing about, chased her off along with Vasu, but even that was not right, not good enough. It didn't matter, no matter what she tried, no matter what she did, it wasn't good enough! What had she gotten for her troubles other than more grief? So instead she opted to do what she did best: talk back; "Oh will you shut it!" Her voice was sharp and rumbling, eyes aflame; "Will you just for one second mind yer own damn business?" It wasn't worth trying to argue back, her defenses would never satisfy him. Better to deflect, put up her shield of fire and bite back: "Dad is fine! Mom was taking care of him! What would y' have me do? Follow her around like Nia, pretending to care about every damn plant she dug up?"

The fiery pup was huffing now, fur standing on end all the way along her spine. Why couldn't he just realize that there was nothing for her to do, she was the useless one, the misfit; "She wouldn't let us near him, wouldn't let us help!" Why was it even her fault? What exactly was it that she had done so wrong in his eyes? She'd done the best thing she could; I stayed out of the way!