Emberwood Walking and the sky keeps falling down

You do not have to apologize, she gently assured him. I am here to listen if you need to talk, she offered next. But she also wouldn't force him to talk about anything—that had been their unspoken agreement. So when he changed the subject and turned the questioning on her, she did not resist. Plus, his question was one she would be happy to answer for him; she had thought about it a lot anyway. Taki nodded and sighed a little. But eventually, a warm smile briefly curved her lips. Yes, I do, she told him. I love being a mother. Her expression turned sad then as she thought of Stag and how she had failed him yet again. Although, I don't think I've been a very good one to Stag, she admitted, her pain obvious in the wavering of her voice and the threat of tears in her eyes. She hadn't allowed herself to really think about what all she had left behind, and although she didn't regret her decision, she wished things could have been different between her and her son. He was planning to leave with Wylla the morning after we were banished. He told me himself, and I did not try to talk him out of it. She shook her head. She had kept the tears away until now by refusing to really think about everything, but now it was like she had opened the dam and there was no closing it. Tears fell freely, and she tried to turn her face and hide them from Taikon; she didn't like crying in front of others, but she knew he would be able to tell.