Emberwood Walking and the sky keeps falling down

Her question seemed to take him by surprise, which she hadn't meant to do; she was only trying to learn more about him. He had certainly let her rattle on about her own children many times. She reached over and resumed her affection, gently working through the strands of his fur in a rhythmic way meant to soothe. His answers were not really answers, she knew because she liked to give those kinds of answers too when she was avoiding things. But she didn't necessarily assume he was avoiding anything—she thought maybe he had never thought much about it. His last answer piqued her curiosity, though; it hinted that there had once been children in his life, and she was unable to keep from asking him to elaborate. 

She paused her grooming just long enough to ask: A while? So you've cared for children before? She hesitated a second before asking her next question. And were these your own children or someone else's? She resumed her affection then as her mind wandered. He had never mentioned children any of the times she had spoke of her own. Surely he would have brought them up while she was going on about her sons and daughter, so maybe he cared for his family's young or maybe his previous pack had children. Still, she was intrigued by the idea of him taking care of pups.