Moonspear doomed

Seeing the pale cub in Sialuk’s arms did lift her spirits a little bit. A very small, soft smile pulled at her lips as she padded into the den and crouched, settling on the dirt floor. She touched her nose delicately to the infant’s, then skimmed it up to her forehead. Meerkat gave her a brow a kiss, then withdrew to look into the new mother’s face.

I’m so happy for you, she said genuinely, despite her family’s own suffering. But since she didn’t have the spoons to guess and didn’t want to assume, she asked, What does it mean?

Her eyes glowed warmly when Sialuk translated, though soon they dimmed and her face clouded. She swallowed and glanced away, breathing for a moment and trying to gather herself. When she felt a bit more collected, Meerkat faced Sialuk and Maggak again, simply gazing at them for a few beats.

She eventually broke the silence to say quietly, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. After what’s happened, it’s a different conversation than I’d planned. But, she sighed, shrugging and waiting for a cue to continue.