Noctisardor Bypass we built these dreams on sand

Heda shifted in the den and briefly Glaukos' attention shifted to watch her and the little bundles she moved; he would not stop her. So far as he was concerned he should not touch them. He was more likely to do harm even if he didn't wish to, given his size. The man was not soft, he had never known softness, and would not be the one the children went to in the future for such things. They had two mothers for that—and two sisters. So many women.

He felt cramped where he was, suddenly.

The dark girl with Merrick's face looked at him and then appeared to flinch away from him, which Glaukos didn't take offense at really; he didn't know what ailed her, and presumed she was only intimidated like everyone else. He continued to loom over the little bodies of his children and very carefully, without touching them, gathered their scents.

It was sort of like watching a tyrannosaurus tending to a clutch of eggs—one wrong move and, splat.