Blacktail Deer Plateau We're in the homestretch of the hard times

The Beta's answer made Harps's brow knit. That idea hadn't even occurred to her. Come to think of it, she hadn't really parsed out how the whole thing must've worked for the two of them to reproduce. There must be a man involved—she was young and inexperienced in these matters, though she knew how they worked—but perhaps he'd simply provided his services, so to speak. It was abundantly clear that Rosalyn and Erzulie shared a pair bond, after all.

Although she wasn't particularly socially adept, some part of Harps understood it wasn't appropriate to push for much more detail. Instead, she said, "That makes sense. He looks like you, she looks like her." Her lips twitched. So they weren't planned? she thought, though that didn't make sense at all. Again, the yearling intuited that asking about it would be a little too nosy.

"I'm from an 'oops!' litter," Harps found herself saying, cheeks flushing a little. "My mother, Spur, not only didn't expect us, she didn't want us... at all. My father, he did his best, and Lele helped too. But my litter mates, they all died." She found herself exhaling a long, low breath, even as they continued their lope. "Um, sorry for the sob story," Harps finished, trailing off awkwardly.