Blacktail Deer Plateau iii. time flies

Grayday nodded. It was not exactly the answer he'd expected, but it worked with his explanation all the same. "I think Khoe jumped without looking. She wanted to be a mother so bad. More than you wanted that rabbit, I'll bet. But after she jumped, I think she got scared. And when she had the chance to bail, she did," the father explained, his voice a bit heavy. He didn't think he was angry at her - he didn't have the energy for it - but it certainly didn't feel great to think about her.

"It was wrong of her to leave your brother and sisters behind," he said after a moment, realizing his metaphor might not have gotten that across. "Especially the way she did, behind everyone's backs. I'll never argue with that. But... sometimes she made me nervous. The way she was around the pups. I'd be lying if I said I didn't sleep a little better knowing she's not going to carry them off in the night."

Though he felt bad saying these things about the mother of his children, it was something of a relief to get it off his chest. "I don't think she was meant to be a mother. I didn't see it before, but as soon as they were born... she just seemed different. Changed. I don't know if there was a better way for things to have gone."