Blackfeather Woods That's My Lullaby

His head laying on her forepaw, Meldresi made a low noise of content in her throat before laying her head over his neck, curling as best as she could around him. He was a large boy, even now at one year of age, and she could no longer tuck him, or his siblings in the crook of her belly. That saddened her slightly, but at least she had two other children of hers that could fill the void, even for a time.

His question, though unintentional, drained away any mirth or simple content she had as she thought back to what happened. To see one of her own children, bleeding, to have heard her scream. The Night Queen shuddered almost violently, lifting her head off of her son's body. "I knew." She admitted quietly, knowing it wasn't what he wanted to hear. "I knew and I could do nothing." The word was broken by a choked sob as she recalled the moment again, seeing Potema going through nightmares and trauma was never something she liked to remember. "Potema did not remember her attacker, Damien. She was the only one who could have sealed Grimnir's fate from that moment, but the trauma of the event was too great — you were only babies then." She laid her head on her free paw, sighing softly. She was quiet for a few beats, trying to calm herself and beat back the memories of the attack and the recovery. When she spoke again, her voice was drenched in malice. "And then he mocked me with having children of his own." She would not have minded had it been Lusa simply getting pregnant, but the acknowledgement of Grimnir being the father of such a young mother's litter disgusted her. "I am glad they are gone."