Sunset Valley stepstones

They kicked?

He blinked in a way that showed it was obviously news to him as well. It made him wonder how hard he had kicked his mother. Did other ones kick her now to make room for their life within hers? He had not thought about her in... he did not know how long.

She was a concept more than a face these days.

He appreciated that her state had not swept away her curiosity. For his own still sat heightened. Very interested in being aligned with those who could catch meals and carried titles for names.

No. He had no sadness in this, though. The wilds had trimmed him into an athletic figure that fought for survival day in and day out. He did not miss what he had hardly ever had.

Do you?