Porcupine Ridge All children, except one, grow up.

Tilting her head, she tried to wait patiently for an answer to her question. Maybe she had said something wrong, suddenly she was worried that she might have lost a potential friend. Until he apologized, she opened her mouth to forgive the lapse in attention. Before she could he continued. The smile turned into a confused frown.

Swallowing nervously, she wasn’t exactly sure what to do with that information. She took a step back, shock registering as she continued to contemplate their relation. “My mom?” Shaking her head she couldn’t believe it. Directing her gaze down to her paws, “Well at least I know she cared about someone.” The girl murmured, she had conflicting feelings about her mother, unable to sort through them at her young age. “If you were the leader of our pack, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with them?” She hadn’t stayed around long enough after the fire to know what had ultimately become of the Morningside pack.

Her stubborn gaze remained on the ground before her paws. Her emotions flipped dangerously, she couldn’t decide whether to settle on sadness or anger. Caught in her own world, Padma hadn’t thought about the potential sensitivity of her questions, and the pain that might present.