I feel fine

She had spoken with all of her children but one now, gently preparing them for the eventuality that they would be alone. She wanted to be certain before she faded away that they were well on the path to taking care of themselves after she was gone, that they were certain of learning what they needed to support themselves in the fields they chose. Cairo alone she had not yet spoken to. He'd always been a sickly child, but there was little she could do to solve that in the time she had left except to make certain Paladin kept his eye on the boy to be sure he grew out of the weakness. His childhood illnesses had made it so that Cairo had spent much less time doing the normal things of pups, the play that was as much learning as it was anything else. She'd also been less able to observe his interests, and was less certain of his choices than she was of Artur, or Geoffrey and Viviane.

She coughed, then sighed and nearly set off another coughing fit but was able to hold back until the urge passed. She didn't rise from her newly-habitual spot beside the den, but raised her head to send out a quiet howl for her son. This time she wasn't able to hold back the cough that wracked her body.