Shadewood for she is now the stranger

He came into this world like a whisper. A tiny, blood-stained whisper, with blind eyes and deaf ears and a near mute tongue. He cried once, after Themis cleaned his mouth and breathed life into his lungs, and afterwards fell silent, even as he suckled, even as he sought rest between his siblings.

He was silent, and aware as any newborn could be. Feeling the movement of these others around him, until his tired mind finally blinked into sleep.