darling dear

Gwen had dozed off again when Caelia's voice woke her. She slept more than anything else these days, though the sleep was rarely restful between the painful coughing and her difficulty breathing. She'd been a light sleeper to begin with - now she woke at the slightest word or pawstep. She raised her head blinking at Caelia, and smiled. "Good afternoon," she said, only too aware of the rasp in her voice that had not been there before she'd been sick. She shifted to lay sphinx-like though she didn't try to rise. She hesitated, thinking of all she had to say and trying to order it. "You know I have been very ill," she said slowly. "I haven't been able to see to your education as well as I had hoped I would." She grimaced, then added, "Nor as the pack helped as I thought they would."