Sun Mote Copse A Child Has Been Born into the World

last from esh!

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eshamun listened to asherah speak, her eyes trained upon the rust-colored bundles at the woman's side. here was a greatly blessed wolfess — the ekar-aji knew she had chosen well when she made asherah an acolyte for the position of res drunak. a sad curve lit eshamun's maw, but she nodded. eight days hence she would return to fulfill her promise to asherah and send the child called bachir back to the eight-armed one.
a backward flick of her ears brought the sound of ar-khalba's footsteps, and eshamun knew she must let the father see his children. "rest now, asherah, blessed among mothers." the ruddy woman exited the den and turned to face her lover. she wished so much to spirit him away and remove the tension from his features — now she must explain her decision to take yet another of his children from him. 
"ar-khalba," and her voice was a gentle breeze among summer leaves. "for the malkaria as well as molech i do this. our pack is small and cannot support the needs of three full litters. you know this as well as i. therefore, i will take one child from each of the baakar. molech gave us this land, but it is mine to tend." the glitter of tears had appeared in her eyes, but eshamun refused to weep, not now. "go to them, khalba."
do not hate me, please do not hate me, she wished to beg of him, but turned away quickly and was gone into the wintry forest soon thereafter.[/tr][/td][/table]