Broken Antler Fen Please allow me to have ONE cathartic experience in my life -

There wasn't really anything Maia felt she could say to make this easier. It hurt to see the joy fade so quickly into shock, but Lilitu had needed to know why her mom hadn't been the one to meet her here. It wasn't fair to draw it out and to keep her hoping that everything was okay.

As she sat down and began to sob, Maia almost instinctually closed the gap and wrapped her in as big of a hug as she could manage, holding her tight while she cried. She couldn't stop a few slipping down her own muzzle as well, but she was just going to be there for her, just as fiercely as she had been for her younger siblings so far.

It isn't fair. I'm sorry. Obviously her niece didn't truly think she was lying, but Maia quietly responded, feeling her heart breaking. It really wasn't. They hadn't done anything to deserve this, and if the world was fair, Ibis would be there right now to watch all of her children grow up.