Broken Antler Fen It's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality

Maia tried to stay calm as she dug, but Hymnal's panic was rubbing off on her and making it hard. What if it collapsed? What if she was, for some reason, stuck in there for good? What if something came up to hurt her and Maia couldn't get at it? What if she couldn't protect herself? It wasn't hard for her mind to go in a thousand different worst-case scenarios. But she managed to pace her digging because the thought of somehow, by accident, hurting her daughter was way worse and way more likely.

When Hymnal finally popped out, Maia fell back and out of the way too, sitting down with a light thump on the dirt next to her. She immediately looked over and was ready to get up, but in an instant, Hymnal's expression went from surprise to laughter. Maia couldn't help but match her with both the smile and a light laugh.

Are you okay? She still asked, reaching over to brush some of the dirt out of Hymnal's thick fur.