I am gentle with my approach of Ehiyeh always, quiet and subtle with my arrival before I call for her and place the pheasants or voles at the mouth of her den. Though it has been some time since I culled the wretch, I had yet to formally tell her though I am sure she feels it within her very bones. I have not mentioned him or that day just as I do not mention the day during which the children were born. I remain neutral and passive, doing what I can with the tools I have been given: food, safety, my presence when needed. It is the least I can do while she recovers though it it no longer a matter of her body doing so - these wounds go deeper, I feel, and I feel as if there are shadows lurking ever closer to her.

But today I have not come for her though I leave two vole at her den. Rather, I have come for the pups; I call for them, a low grumble of a thing as I lure them out, pawing at the sandy cusp the den's mouth. When they come, I motion forward, my strides slow and deliberate as I take them towards the shore - there is a mischief in this quietness, one I had employed when Ehiyeh and her brothers were but children too. I allow my gait to be springy, my tail bouncing along - it is unusual to allow myself to be as such and yet, I feel it is a must for these children especially. They must feel loved, welcomed for that is what they are. Their blood is not their fault and it is no fault of their own that they had been conceived through an act of violence. Instead, this is to be a fun outing as we amble towards one of the many rocky outcrops that litter the shoreline.

I step easily up the stones, marking each rock of the path clearly with a stern paw so that they might follow. It is the prize at the top that I give a singular bark at though - a pool of water some several feet across though only deep enough to lap at their bellies. Within it, there are flashes of silver as the small fish dart away from a paw that I haphazardly pat at the surface with. I flash them a snaggled grin as I motion to the surface, tempting them to paw at it too, to test its surface. Below, I can see the flashes of blue and green, telltale signs of crabs that hide beneath the ledges.