"Just kill it."
"But it's a baby."
Jade let out an exaggerated breath as she crossed her arms. She just wanted to go home before their dad noticed how long they were taking. Plus she had homework she had to do before their training session. Granted she probably wouldn't end up actually doing it, but she liked the option.
Artemis, on the other hand, was busy staring at an injured baby bird. It squawked for its siblings to come back and help him. It spreads its wings to try to fly, but could only hop a few inches to the left. It was stuck on the ground until someone came to help it.
Her sister told her to kill it again and Artemis didn't want to. It did nothing to them other than taking up a little space on the sidewalk. It didn't deserve to die when it was so young. Looking at the vulnerable bird, Artemis wanted to take it home.
"You are being ridiculous." Jade told her when she asked if they could.
Artemis kept quiet and crouched down to get a closer look of the bird. It wasn't that bad of an idea. She could keep it in a box in her room until it got better. Then she could convince her parents to get a cage. It could be their family pet. A small smile appeared on her face as she thought about it.
She was too busy coming up with scenarios in her head that she didn't hear Jade shuffling through her backpack. It wasn't until Jade pressed the handle of a knife to her hand that she realized what was going on.
"It's weak," Jade explained, "And the weak ones must die for the strong to live. That's the way it works."
"It doesn't have to be that way." Artemis said softly.
In one swift move Jade took the knife and stabbed the bird in the chest. Blood splattered the ground as she retracted the knife. The bird slowly stopped squawking until there was silence in the air around them. Artemis' eyes stayed transfixed on the bird while Jade wiped the blood off with a piece of litter.
Jade tugged her up by the arm and started leading her home. "It does have to be that way, Artemis. The bird was going to die soon anyways."
Artemis kept her eyes on the ground the rest of the way home. The bird stayed on her mind along with what Jade told her. It was nothing new, their dad basically preached it every day, but it bothered her that her sister was saying it. If Jade said it had to be that way then it was true.
Right?