Morningside Cuesta sandcastles

was she being unreasonable? perhaps, she decided, caught in a kind of thoughtfulness. Sunny's leaving had felt like a blow, and the concept that family members could betray you, burn you was illuminated, if not already from her mother's departure. fear had been lurking, no matter how she tried to squash it down, no matter how much she tried to reason to herself that it would never happen, that Grayday would do they same. she was hurt, in the knowledge that he had a new family, and she did not know of it until now. but that was not betrayal, just hurt. right?

the concept that Da explained had not occurred to her in her anger. not a whole new family, but instead adding new members to it. her gaze fell onto Akuti, watching her. she liked the woman, as a friend. she had never considered the prospect that she might add people to the family, but as she pondered the idea in studious silence, the flame that was her anger and hurt and fear flickered, burning lower. perhaps this would not be quite so bad. 

"They- they'd be my sisters. My brothers?" she asked, gaze moving slowly to rest on her father's still guarded and hardly nonchalant, but lacking the flame of anger and hurt. his final words had her eyes widen, and her maw slip open quickly. "I, Da. I won't - I can't-" the ease with which he had offered her the choice came unexpectedly, and her emotions swirled. was she being overbearing? was she trying to control the remains of her family so extensively that Da would think to offer her the choice? " I love you Da. And I like Akuti, too. I was- I was scared, that...you're-" she stammered,  unable to quite form the words. he was all she really had, the only person she truly loved since her relationship with Sunny had been trampled and strangled. And there was a horrible, horrible fear that she would lose that. " I could never ask you to do that, Da. You want me to be happy, and I want you to be happy, too. And if Akuti, and pups, and a bigger family does that, then...then I'm ok. I'm happy too, Da."  the words seemed pale in comparison to what she felt, and she immediately regretted them; not because she suddenly felt differently, but because they failed to convey what she felt. her gaze shifted to the earth beneath her paws, uneasily, and feeling oddly unsettled...the whirlwind of news and emotion and changes in the past few weeks had her sometimes feel a little overwhelmed. Truthfully, sometimes was an understatment.