Ouroboros Spine Oh, this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees.

She saw the pain her departed daughter’s name evoked on Kukutux’s face, taking it at face value. The pale woman’s expression cleared as she reported that her grandchildren thrived under their aunt’s and wet nurse’s care. Then she mentioned another branch of her family, a living daughter with three grandchildren in tow.

The comment about children earned a grimace from Towhee, not because it wasn’t true—pups were a salve, especially during times of grief—but because it made her think of Caracal’s pups. Half were missing and the other half were heartbroken. And those former were, however indirectly and innocently, the cause of their father’s death.

I just lost a child too, she replied to her friend’s question, face contorting again, and he’d lost so much. This isn’t my first rodeo, not that it gets any easier. But it’s knowing how much he must’ve suffered… oh, fuck, Towhee said right before sinking to the ground.