Ocean's Breath Plateau Out on the mira

He sensed before she spoke that these words were unwelcome. Dutch quieted as soon as he was bid, uncertain what part of this confession had been most unsavory to her. The panther felt guilty for all of it — for having those thoughts at all, but for not giving in to them as well. For leaving in the first place, when it was not his own child nor even Valiant's that'd been missing. That was still missing, so far as he knew.

Dutch had never met Nutuyikruk. He mourned her anyway, just as he mourned her mother. It had not seemed fair at the time to focus on his own family when another had been so thoughtlessly torn apart. He had not given proper weight to his absence, which had surely been a heavy burden on Simbelmyne even before it stretched to untenable and unexplained time away.

Apologies felt hollow when he'd made each choice that'd made her and Katmai both so thin and wan.

He did not reply, unsure whether even acquiescence would be welcome if it came in his voice. He groomed her instead, as if putting her beautiful coat back into order would somehow heal the unseen wounds he'd dealt her as well.