Stavanger Bay oo baby

Alya frowned at the boy, not liking the strange, phantom pain she felt in her own chest at his admission. Was this... empathy? Disgusting! Alya didn't need to know how anyone felt except for her two counterparts, and even that could be exhausting sometimes.

But...

"My Dashie died, when I was really little," she shared, possibly causing a bit of confusion with her word choice. "I still remember it, though. I was playing where I wasn't supposed to, and then a cougar came and tried to eat me - and he fought it, and it ate him instead."

He hadn't been her father, though.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, hoping an apology would get this horrible sad feeling off her chest. "That's one of the most terrible things I can think of. I wish I could make it... go away. Or something."