Blackfeather Woods gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit

Sobek was patient. He did not know what he was waiting for, but he was quiet and present, becoming a confessor for his mother in the moment. He watched her carefully; saw the way her eyes stared dimly at the altar; the taut curves of her face and where the sadness collected like dark circles under them. When she spoke it was with a louder voice which he appreciated, but there was a different quality to it that he could not fully identify. Weighted, almost, and then altogether too light for what he was used to hearing. Maegi was usually very open when speaking to her children; now she seemed guarded, as if she were sharing something deeply precious.

She spoke of a friendship the likes of which young Sobek could not fathom. The boy wondered if he had a first friend of similar importance and immediately thought of Anansi and Sakhmet, which made him feel quite pleased with himself for having two while his mother had managed only one. But in the quiet he thought about the woman, Cassiopeia. He did not know her well while she was alive, and Maegi never spoke of aunts or uncles (nor the concept of any extended relations) so he thought, maybe a friend couldn't be a brother or a sister? Maybe it was someone else entirely - like Rowan, his mind offered. He could make Rowan his first friend in that case, in fact he would like it very much.

But Maegi had stopped talking. It had not been long, but Sobek felt immediately guilty for letting his mind wander. He probed at her softly with his nose, then after nibbling faintly at her nearby hip, he asked, Where did you find her? He hoped mostly to keep her talking. The more she focused on her stories the less she could cry, and Sobek hated to see his mother crying.