Blackfeather Woods [m] i've known everything but this

Maybe something was wrong, though. He smiled, but it didn't feel like a smile. He turned away from her and laid in the grass, and she in turn glanced into the trees, her joy fading. They stood quietly for a moment, not speaking, not looking at each other. A wall suddenly between them—or maybe it'd been there throughout the encounter, and she had refused to see it.

After a moment, Maegi padded over to him and touched her nose to the crown of his head. Held it there for an instant, and then moved away.

The Melonii slipped into the shadows, feeling sore, depraved, and alone. Guilty, too, for reasons she couldn't quite comprehend. But she was with child, now, and she thought that might make it all worth it, in the end. Hopefully Mou could see that, eventually.