Broken Antler Fen Did you stand or did you fall?

AW <3 she's gonna be a bummer for a bit

The next few days were some of the hardest she'd encountered in her life, and Maia was extremely lucky that she had Eljay and Sylvie and Hymnal.

For their sake, she had to take care of herself at least a little. When Eljay brought her food she ate at least some of it, knowing that she needed to keep the children healthy. If she didn't have that to hold onto, and if she didn't have Eljay, she didn't know where she'd be. Even with them, it felt like she was in danger of disappearing entirely.

She stared listlessly at the den entrance, light filtering in. She didn't know what time it was, she'd woken up shortly before and hadn't gotten up yet. She felt one of her daughters rooting against her and closed her eyes, taking a breath. She felt nauseous.

She didn't have much to give them right now, or Eljay. She'd barely spoken to him, even though she knew he was hurting too. The guilt of that was just another thing on the pile she was drowning under. She didn't have any more tears in her, just emptiness right now.

You're a terrible wife and a worse mom. You told him it wasn't a big deal. You told him to just remember the good times. But Wraen's gone now, and guess what? You don't get to do that because you haven't been there. You were too busy. You deserve this.