I crossed the bridge

The babies. Natalya thought they were doing quite well, but her thoughts always drifted to the one she'd left for dead when they were brought up. She reminded herself again and again that it wasn't murder. It was mercy to put him out of his misery, before life took and tortured him, before he suffered throughout the whole of it. A brief moment of suffering was far better than a lifetime of it.



It took effort to keep such negative thoughts off of her face. She focused on keeping her expression light and friendly as she responded to her young niece. "The babies are doing quite well. They are full of energy, and will be ready to leave the den any day now. How have you been, my dear?" Natalya had noticed that Gaia's interest had left the pack lands before she could give them the decision of the gods, and she knew it must be a tough time for the girl to have to endure her mother's difficult pregnancy without his support.