The Tangle sedna.

the first; sobeille had never witnessed so small a thing. even her little toes were in a world of miniature.

sobeille had never been this close to birth, not since her own and she certainly recalled none of it.

she placed the first -- black coat slick as a seal diving through the waves -- at the woman's side. a thought bolted through her mind as she worked: if the woman was dead, could they still glance? a brief glance at her crumpled body and sobeille turned back to the one still remaining.

the second gasped once and only once. sobeille believed her dead until she saw the faintest sliver of lifting in her rib cage. this one was black too; reminding her of an otter as it leapt from the bank.

both were placed gingerly at their dead mother's teat. how long before the milk soured?

sobeille's heart churned as she remembered that maman was not here to to help them.