Northstar Vale after many miles

That was certainly an unexpected question. Easy wasn't sure how she felt about it, but children were a woman's right, weren't they?

"Maybe," she said, trying to imagine going through all that without love to drive her. Instincts were strong — but instincts could shift. She did not think a pup would survive without love and instinct both. That, however, was for the young stranger to find out.

"Children are like you and I, only smaller and stupider," she told the woman. "If they are well cared for, if they are provided for, if they can feel the warmth of your body — perhaps that will be enough for some. For others, they can be given all the love in the world and still grow to resent their mothers."

Her tail swished. She thought of her own mother, and how unsuited the young woman had been to the task. Easy still found love for the women in her heart, even if it wasn't the love of a daughter for her mother.

"If they grow to be adults, they will have the opportunity to find their own happiness," said Easy. "They may choose to love you or to hate you. They may choose neither. They may say, 'I know you have done the very best you could for me' and choose any of these things."