Arrow Lake Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.

Her ears flattened at his outburst, and she glanced down at the children, but they had fallen asleep in their customary pile, none them even stirring at the sudden volume in his voice. There was a rebuke in her gaze as she looked back to her brother. They're fine, she said. She was starting to wonder if maybe this should wait until later when she knew Mahler or Stigmata would come by, and she could slip away for a little bit. 

But then he was speaking again, this time careful to keep his voice down despite the inflammatory topic, and she decided she would give him another chance. She listened with quiet anger as he finished explaining what their sister had done. She wasn't surprised that their mother had done nothing; she was weak. Taki, again, wished she had been home when this happened; she would have put Shila in her place, and none of this would have happened. She didn't blame Sadiq, though; he always was more of a follower, although she was pretty sure it was because their father had destroyed his spirit. That was her theory, anyway.

His last words tightened her chest painfully. For a few moments, she thought she was talking to Sia, and she couldn't bear to look at him. Her gaze fell to the sleeping pups for a few seconds. But he was not Sia, and this was not his fault. She sought his gaze again, only speaking once she had it. No, Sadiq, she started. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine; I should have been there to stop her. It was the first time she regretted leaving their home. But, she wouldn't have her children if she hadn't left, and she had been free of her father's suffocating presence, so it was hard to regret it enough to consider returning. 

Is that why you left? She asked quietly. Because you think it's your fault?