Heron Lake Plateau Never mind the slacks and bashers

Though it did sound as though Quixote was trying to figure out the right thing to say, by the hesitation in his voice, his choice of words caused Niamh to bristle visibly, and she turned her face away. It was fine for her to speak about Screech like that- but that didn't mean she wanted someone else to say those things. She didn't want to hear someone else trash talk him, or say anything that might hint that they believed he'd never wake up. Niamh held her breath and bit her lip, squeezing the tender flesh until she could taste blood. "Mmh," Was all she answered, as she sucked at her lip to try and get the little bit of bleeding to stop. 

He changed the subject and asked how she'd been before all that happened, but she wasn't sure how to respond. What did that matter now? What did it matter that things had been alright? She had a wolf in her den who was unconscious and probably going to die from thirst and hunger- so why should she reminisce about how things had once been actually half decent? So when Quixote shared how he'd been- and that he'd gone through 'some stuff,' she turned to face him sharply, eyes glassy. 

"I'll bet. You got alphaship, a mate and kids on the way." She said flatly. She remembered that feeling, then, probably just because she was bitter about Screech's situation. The cold cut of jealousy was there again, simply because she was vulnerable to emotion. She opened her mouth to say something, but an odd little bit of movement caught her eye. 

It was a crab. 

Either hers or Tegan's, she wasn't sure- but the little crustacean scrabbled sideways along the side of the lake, and her jaw dropped in surprise. "You little shit! You're still alive!" She exclaimed, suddenly distracted- as she often was- by the surprising discovery that at least one of the crabs was still alive...It was, however, moving very slowly, and its claws drooped. It wasn't doing terribly well. She stood then, and moved so she looked directly down at it, and gently set one foot atop its gently rounded shell...And that was when it hit her. 

She glanced at Quixote, and then down at the crab, and she faltered for a moment. "I...I brought these back when Tegan and I went to Drageda, to tell Wildfire that Raven was pregnant...Tegan and I wanted to start a colony here, to feed everyone." She said. It felt good, to talk about something different, as much as it pained her, knowing what she had to do. "I...I haven't...I couldn't think of a way but now..." She said, still looking down at the crab that tried to move from under her paw, but it had become too weak, after being deprived of the nutrients it needed from its salt water home. "Screech needs water. This...This should do it." She said, and with a movement deft but precise, she lifted her foot, grabbed the crab and cracked through its bottom shell. She tore away piece by piece, pulling the legs off what should have been the prime breeding stock for her crab colony until nothing was left but the rounded top shell. She lowered it into the lake, and lifted it, setting it down carefully, full of water. She glanced at Quixote then, and finally heaved a resigned sigh. "Sorry. I'm just...Glad I figured out a way to get water to him."