Bearclaw Valley No More.

Nanook squirmed as mama rasped her tongue across her cheek. Why was she laughing at her? She hadn't said anything funny. A frown etched her face, and too many questions filled her mind. What about Xan, would he have babies, too? He was different than her - not a girl. But papa was different than her, and he had babies. But he was a papa, not a mama, so maybe that was what Xan would be, too.

But mama's quiet chuckling made her grow silent, and she saved her questions for another day. Instead she nodded along with mama's promise to keep Leo away, all too pleased with mama's willing agreement. "Good," she said with a firm and final nod of her head. For all she knew, Leo's mama was the storm that had washed away their first home. It was after the flood he'd shown up, after all, and it made sense, because the flood hadn't been nice to them. That sounded a lot like the mommy mama talked about, didn't it? "If Leo stayed, the water'd come again," she said sagely. After all, she knew if she was lost, mama would come after her, too.