Broken Antler Fen swamp beaver

She hadn't really realized how close Teya and Wraen were. It brought back that old guilt of feeling like she hadn't paid enough attention, or spent enough time, before it became too late. It was such a familiar feeling; every family member she had ever lost, she'd lost without the chance to say goodbye.

She'd tried to avoid things like this, but Maia wasn't stoic by nature. She tried to be sometimes, usually failed, and most of her avoidance had been because she knew she couldn't hide her feelings well enough to not implode the moment it came up. Enough time had passed that she had worked through a lot of her grief, but she would probably never be entirely rid of it.

Maia let herself lean into the hug, first hesitantly, but then completely. I haven't, she admitted quietly. I can't. Maybe she'd been once, right after it happened. But she'd never gone on her own.