Noctisardor Bypass This was my youth in the world of nettles

Sometime in the night, perhaps two or three days past, her eyes had opened. Reserved by nature, Goldfinch had not drawn attention to herself. Even now she only quietly observed the happenings within the den. There was so much to be seen.

Though she didn't understand any of it yet, watching it all took a great deal of energy. After a time she yawned and sought the warmth of one of her siblings. It didn't matter much to her whether they had plans of their own; she wanted a nap, and fully expected her chosen victim to participate.

A shaky breath heralded Druid’s arrival back in the den. She swallowed as her eyes adjusted, then stepped carefully over all the squirming bodies on the floor. She lowered herself to the ground across from her sister, who appeared to be asleep. By rote, Druid reached for the children, mouthing them closer to her own flank to give @Heda a proper rest.

For a while, she stared at her sister’s face. Druid saw Witch’s head pop into the den. She acknowledged her with a small smile, then dropped her eyes. Now she looked at the pups, freezing a little when she saw one of them looking back at her for the first time.

Whichever sibling she'd chosen was uncooperative. Goldfinch took a kick to the chin and promptly decided she was no longer in the mood for a nap. There was something moving in the den now anyway.

Her mother, though she didn't know it just yet. Neither was she aware of the visitor to the den that only Druid could see, but nonetheless, Goldfinch's eyes followed some invisible movement as if watching the vision of the aunt she would never know. After a few seconds her puppy-blue eyes returned to her mother. She blinked, but was otherwise unresponsive.

Hello, Goldfinch, Druid found herself saying without thinking.

They stared at one another for some unknowable amount of time. When Druid thought to look up again, Witch was gone and Heda was still asleep. Her attention wandered to the five other pups, wondering if any more of hers had opened their eyes when she hadn’t been paying enough attention.

I’m sorry I’m such a godawful mother, were her next words, uttered in a very low whisper as she put her face a little nearer the pup’s. You and your siblings have taken a lot out of me. But don’t feel bad. It’s not really your fault. You can’t help it…

Last for me! Thank you for the thread.

Goldfinch watched her mother, appearing to listen intently to her apology. Even if she'd known what the words meant, she wouldn't have understood. Her brief life hadn't yet given her a reason to suspect it was anything but normal.

She yawned again. As real and raw as Druid's struggles might have felt to her, it would be a long time before Goldfinch even realized that anything was truly wrong. She would be far too busy growing, learning, becoming herself.

She settled her head against another sibling, changing her mind again about that nap.

Little Goldfinch made no reply. Druid knew the puppy couldn’t hear her properly, much less understand anything she was saying. Nevertheless, she felt a little better for their heart-to-heart.

When her daughter pillowed her head on one of her litter mates and shut those baby blues, Druid sat back, eyes glancing at the den’s door. Witch didn’t return. She thought of her conversation with Fiona and frowned thoughtfully.

For the moment, there wasn’t much movement in the den. Druid knew not to squander such an opportunity. She settled her head over Goldfinch, closing her own eyes.