Heron Lake Plateau I'm staring down myself, counting up the years

Kiwi let her off the hook. Wildfire was glad. She would've told her anything she wanted to know (within reason) but it was probably better this way. She didn't want to burden her daughter with such matters. Kiwi wasn't a baby anymore, though the mother was still protective and didn't want to darken the girl's world any more than necessary.

The question came out of left field and surprised a laugh from Wildfire. "No!" she said quickly, nipping at Kiwi's cheek. "Were you hoping for even more brothers and sisters? But no, I was too young at the time we were together." She stopped there, lapsing into a ponderous silence. Life would've been a lot different if not for Goober, though as she looked at her daughter, she couldn't regret any of it—even the darkest, foulest bits—because, otherwise, she wouldn't have Kiwi and this important moment of mother/daughter bonding.