bursting at the seams

Venom took a deep breath and steadied herself, this was the even of the children’s first night outside the palace. They had nearly full reign of the inner corridors but even with the massive space inside it was too small for five growing puppies. They’d eaten a meal, had their usual lessons, and now that playtime came back around the Empress stood up to address her little ones. The time seemed to have flown by already, they were no longer her tiny little newborn beans. She felt like yesterday she’d given her heart to Hattori, but here she was looking at it now. Five little pieces of her heart, innocent to the horrors that faced them outside.

This was the natural order, she remembered how eager she had been to leave the den. Her own children now were just as eager, and if she waited for much longer she knew they would all pour out of the palace eventually. The young Empress looked up to Hattori for encouragement as she embraced this next step, their children’s next milestone.

”You all did so well my loves,” she praised them as the lesson ended and she knew they would be most restless. ”Now, is everyone ready to see outside?” There wouldn’t be so much in the way of exciting things to see, the darkness held tightly to everything. The moon managed to peek past the clouds though, and the full Spring moon would light the world for them.