Totoka River Mama, I need you

 

Hemlock near smothered him in kisses, nuzzling against him tenderly. He didn't upset her calling her Mama though it still made her heart lurch. How many babies had she loved that were not even her own? It didn't matter - the list was long and she had given what she could to every one of them. "Tapat," She cooed out, tucking herself against him. "Ceallach is watching them, they were sleeping when I left." Hemlock assured him. She appreciated that his first thought was to Reed and Droman, proving her thoughts were correct when it came to the way he tended to children and felt about them. 

"Undersea has disbanded. Everyone else is gone, so we crossed the sea to make sure that we could find a safe place to stay. Are you okay?" She asked as she looked him over - hoping that nothing bad had passed while he had been on his own. He didn't seem hurt, she couldn't smell anything bad on him, and so she relaxed minimally. All she knew about where he wanted to go was that it was back away from the shore - she'd never gone to the Caldera herself but maybe they should have headed that direction, at least temporarily.