Hoshor Plains We picked up the shards and formed them into shapes of stars

She didn't know how he could be so sure, but still, the blackbear found it easy to accept his words.

"I like singing, too," she said with a wag of her tail. "I don't have the natural talent for it, but songs are important to my family. We have a song for everything you could think of."

She was sure this year's litter would appreciate having Sumac's voice around to eclipse her own from time to time. In the past, the family had relied heavily on Aditya and Valiant for such things. She wondered, wistfully, what her lover was doing with himself right now. Would he go back to the spine and find her missing? Or would he think to stop by Round Valley, first?

Easy hadn't been one for romances of her own since she was a young girl, but Aditya was still important to her. He was family, imperfect as he was. And he'd given her five beautiful children, and despite being absent much of the time, she could see all the things she loved about him in their sons and daughters. From her, they'd only gotten rebelliousness and difficult "Type A" personalities. And she was proud of that! But she still believes his blood and his love, however distant, had been a tempering influence on their lives.

What would these ones be like? Would they seem more like strangers to her, since she might see the stranger's blood rather than Aditya's? Easy couldn't imagine it happening like that.

"I'm sure you didn't," Easy said with a soft breath. "I don't know her whole story. She was born to my brother, Sunny, and his wife, Aliac. Her and Valiant, and one other. Aeryn. But a bear attacked and killed Aliac when they were still very small, and then Sunny..." Easy shook her head. "He got sick. He forgot things. He acted strangely. And then he died — and before even that, Minnow had gone missing. Kidnapped, we believe. The family was never the same — over and over and over again, they were never the same. Valiant suffers much for it, still. I can only imagine how hard things might be for Minnow."

She turned a sad smile on Sumac.

"But I think she would be lucky to have a friend like you," she assured him, "Even if she might be difficult to befriend."