The Freedom you so Crave

Now, it was entirely possible that locking her kids in a room on the ship with her companions while she took each kid in turn to the beach was something of a bad idea, but hey Friar loved a captive audience for his plays, so what was the harm? Today was Ajax's turn and the leashes got left behind. He could run around all he wanted and do all the things he wanted to do on the expanse of the beach.

"Alright, the day is yours, kiddo, what are we gonna do?" she asked him, wondering if she'd ever feel the type of maternal love she had heard so much about. In the meantime, everything felt like babysitting or like caring for a niece or nephew. She loved them, sure, probably, but she expected... more. Wasn't that the whole point of instincts?