Northstar Vale I wake up in the night to watch you breathe.

From the moment she exited her sac, Lilitu was loud.

Her mother had it easy with Arielle, who slipped into the world with naught but a squeak before finding the teat, nursing, and settling into comfortable silence. But once the second daughter's tiny head popped into the atmosphere, she was wailing: a tiny banshee.

Whine, whine, whine (would you like some cheese with that?) until she, too, found (probably with some help) a nipple. She clamped on with ferocity and began to suckle; only then, when the milk hit her mouth, did she start to shut up. Even afterwards, when her little stomach was full, she still whimpered. Fretted. Kicked and kneaded in idle fashion against her mother until falling into a fitful sleep.

A chatterbox from the get-go. Sorry, Mom.