She thought of her sister as she was led out of her home, still wearing her nightwear. They hadn't let her grab her shoes.

The sun peeked over the horizon, its rays painting the sky a burnt orange. It'd be some time before the morning communal meal, one that Shreya wouldn't take part in. Exile being her punishment meant that she couldn't partake in their daily and nightly food.

Pravaah bagged her head. The burlap stung her eyes. She squeezed them shut. The hunters marched her forward. Her mother gripped her arm to steer her along, something that she didn't have to do. Shreya wasn't going to break away and run. She couldn't. They'd prepare a worse punishment for her if she did. She'd chosen this and she was going to deal with it.

The walk went on so long that she lost track of time. No one said a word. Blinded, she had to settle for listening to birdsong and the wind whipping against leaves. One of the wolves with them had a limp that caused him to shift his foot along the ground. That had to be a test, to see if she'd resist tracking her way back based on his drag marks in the dirt.

She counted her breaths, each one deliberate. In and out through the nose, nice and easy. The hot air within the sack dizzied her. It was her mother's hand on her arm that kept her from stumbling.

Finally, they stop. Pravaah pulled the bag off of her head. Free, Shreya took a gulp of welcome air. "Clothes," her mother said.

Shreya slipped them off and over her head. She handed them over. Her cheeks burned, not from the shame of being seen, but from the realization that she had nothing to protect herself with. No shoes. No clothes. No knife or gourd.

"We'll come from you at the next sunrise," Pravaah announced. Shreya listened to the rules that weren't spoken, as well. Attempts at getting home wouldn't be tolerated. Even if the sun had set a second time, she was not to try to get back to the community. Whether or not to pick her up was their decision. Shreya's choice had only been a suggestion, after all. "Turn around."

She turned on her heel to look at a tree. Shreya stared so hard at it that her vision blurred. She didn't turn around until Pravaah and the other hunters were out of earshot.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Shreya slapped her hand over her arm, crushing a bug dead. She hoped that wouldn't be a common occurence. If she didn't get herself a shelter, they'd chew her up. Protection from them and other creatures had to be her first priority.

Warmth in the night would be a struggle. The cold season was creeping in. Stripped of clothing, she was at the risk of the elements. She had to do something about that, too. Material for a fire. A proper shelter. ...Which first?

She took a step and jumped onto the other foot as soon as she did. Something stuck her right in the heel, bad enough to make her bleed. Shreya twisted the barb out of her foot. It belonged to one of the plants that hung off of the tree. That was another thing for her long list of things to take care of: shoes. And more importantly, she needed to find a water source. But not having a gourd would make carrying water a problem.

A day without food... She could live through that. Not having a knife meant that she couldn't make a spear for herself. The best she could do was arm herself with a heavy stick. It'd work as a crude club weapon. She'd be able to bash an animal to death if she needed to, although the odds of that were unlikely. It seemed like they'd taken her to a part of their woods that was devoid of life.

It wasn't like this sort of area was rare in their territory. Even the plants were losing their luster. The treaty they made with the humans meant that they were stuck with empty places like this one, where not even insects sang. The humans took the best parts of the land and left the wolves with a pathetic bit. It wasn't like the wolves didn't deserve it, though. They earned their place at the bottom.

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A/N: Chapter 20 is out now on the main site. Voting for Chapter 20 will end on Tuesday at 11:59 PM EST.

The next update to RRL will be Chapter 11.3.