Blacktail Deer Plateau His son would think his father could do no wrong

Nieve tried to imagine what might best signify her missing family members. For Clementine, she would bring a dried flower; for Reyes, a bit of preserved mahogany wood; for Scarab, the shell of an iridescent beetle; for Rosalyn, a shark's tooth if she was so lucky as to find one, or a whale's bone if not. Marisol was the only one she could not think of something for, and she was saddened by the knowledge that her littermate had been gone so long that Nieve couldn't well remember what she was like.

That's beautiful, she said, agreeing that such a shell would be a good token for Erzulie. She sought to bump her crown affectionately against her dam's shoulder, then swept eagerly forth at the mention of octopus. Their departure from the seaside would only ever be an upsetting event for Nieve, but small reminders would keep it dear to her heart. She knew that soon they might run out of the fare they were accustomed to and would need to eat like wolves of the land did, so she would relish the taste of octopus, even dried.

Yes ma'am!