It became a pattern and we tried to break Aiden of his habit. He found comfort with his hands wound in my hair at night. I assumed he’d clung to his mother’s fur in the darkness and this sensation was familiar. He just couldn’t sleep unless he was wrapped around my head.

After a few days we gave up trying to change him. For being an orphan Aiden was adapting very well. If he needed to sleep that way at night, I would not begrudge him. Evan just used a brush and detangled my hair every morning as I nursed the boys. The solution was simple enough.

It took a moon for the boys teeth to come in. For that one moon they were mine to care for full time. My entire world revolved around their needs and they were absolutely consuming. I was Mama and they were mine. The time seemed to blur for me and went by much too quickly.

At the next gathering I felt myself tearing apart inside when my boys found their three Brothers the first day. It took all my strength and fortitude not to break down screaming. Jonathan and Aiden seemed thrilled to be playing with these other children. If I acted upset I was sure it would be disconcerting to my young ones and they meant everything to me. I stood stoically and buried my nails into my palms to distract from the mental anguish.

The women watched them during the gathering. They were fierce boys who liked rough play and movement. Nu-reeh commented they would never be content in a shop all day. Despite my weakness, my Little boy was a Warrior like his father. That’s how he would be raised.

The design for the tattoo was created by a group of women. There was far more information in those marks than even Runen and his brothers understood. A woman finding a lost man would know exactly who he was when she saw his mark.

I watched solemnly as the boys were tattooed. The women took them into a room and distracted them as they marked the children’s skin. One Brother at a time received the distinctive tattoo. The pain was spread out, so the Little ones barely noticed.

pride to decorate their

colors they liked and pasted the colors to different balls. They sat the balls down

light blue appealed to my son. The

blue, no

was to be permitted to be present for this as long as I made no trouble. My tears dripped silently down my face, but I made no sound. Nu-reeh had been clear that she would not tolerate outbursts from me. It was

her cousins

Jonathan’s compound would be the one we associated with the red mountains. Not that it mattered, I felt like I would never

walked out to a large opening in the mountain. The boys were all wrapped warmly in coats and matching mittens. I noted that Jonathan’s was made of that strange fabric my coat

armed and obviously Warriors. Tosu explained the transports took the children most of the way. Trenal would “Leave them” with the Child Keepers, once they were close. That is how

herded I realized there were so many of

not enough children to populate an entire planet. Something was very wrong. The community hospital

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