Blackfeather Woods gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit

Her eyelids fluttered shut at Sobek's gentle touch, his voice weaving through her mind like the sweetest of breezes. Maegi smiled, taking a deep breath in through congested nostrils and thus wheezing slightly.

She found me, she said simply, remembering the scene as if she were within it now, rather than recalling it from thousands of hours away—

She was very beautiful, her coloring the polar opposite of Potema's. Her green eyes were luminous in the darkness of Blackfeather Woods. She also looked kind, and Maegi leapt at the opportunity to socialize, with a smile, albeit a shaky one, at her new companion.

My childhood was not like yours, Maegi continued, opening her eyes to look at her pale-eyed son. My mother didn't want me. The circumstances of my birth made me something she didn't want, and something that the rest of the pack didn't really trust. But Cassiopeia came, and she played a game with me. She didn't have to, but she did. I never forgot.

One large black paw came suddenly at her nose, and she backed away and dropped the stick, surprised by the touch. No one but her siblings had touched her beyond necessity. With a couple of blinks, she was silent for a beat, then let out a squeal of a giggle, wagging her tail. It appeared that this wolf, with the smile on her face, was attempting to play after all.

Her eyes welled up and silent tears spilled over; nevertheless, her voice remained steady. She was a good woman, she murmured. Fierce but kind. Brave, loving. She was everything I wanted my own mother to be for me. And Potema was, she was! But not for Maegi. Never for Maegi.