Ocean's Breath Plateau All I can say is that my life is pretty plain

The boy rarely got time alone with either of his mothers. Not because he was lost in the crowd, but because he was so often chasing after his siblings. He was a boy who loved his family and delighted in them at every waking hour — it was just that his siblings tended to be up to much more interesting things than the adults in his life.

But a walk on the beach was a welcome reprieve. The boy panted in the heat as they explored, nearly biting his tongue when he suddenly needed to defend himself. He snapped viciously at the intruder, and then again, and then he realized at last who the culprit really was.

"Mama!" he yelled, offended and entertained all at once. His tiny tail spun as he shook the seaweed loose, and then he grabbed a piece and went charging after the woman. He whipped it at her paws — and it made a poor weapon, but touching her with it at all seemed like a victory to the small boy.