Moonspear ride like a maniac into the light

She could hear one of the new pups squalling from where she stood and the sound stirred up all sorts of nasty feelings within her. She was more of an adult than those kids were — her siblings, she reminded herself, — but she was still a child. And while she had never been the subject of hand-holding or helicoptering, she felt like she was being asked to be very big when she was objectively still very small.

Her mother stepped out of the den while her aunt slipped in; briefly, she wondered why it could not always be this way. Vega was old enough to be able to tell her own mother from the sisters, but maybe the youngest ones wouldn’t have to know the difference.

Hydra’s small gesture of affection struck Vega in a way that she hadn’t expected. At first, she recoiled from it, but her surprise melted quickly as she moved to affectionately clip her mother in the chin with the crown of her head. Her mother’s touch said, nothing has changed. Vega was still Hydra’s offspring and she had once been small and helpless as well.

How are they doing? The delivery of the question was quieter than typical for Vega, but it was clear that it came from her not knowing where to start instead of any hidden hostility that might have remained. And how are you?