![[Image: dc4m3i2-87e99cba-7abd-4524-9974-79197204...ovRCBg463c]](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/8de06d9c-d383-4aad-acec-b5022eec4877/dc4m3i2-87e99cba-7abd-4524-9974-791972044b16.gif?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzhkZTA2ZDljLWQzODMtNGFhZC1hY2VjLWI1MDIyZWVjNDg3N1wvZGM0bTNpMi04N2U5OWNiYS03YWJkLTQ1MjQtOTk3NC03OTE5NzIwNDRiMTYuZ2lmIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.EPFDZFQQCmNLm5iVPcPMNc__gynm60qvcovRCBg463c)
She'd lagged behind. Not because she didn't want to be in the forefront, more so that she did not know how to be there. It had never been her place. Amaranth had never been the parent that her children had gone to for kindness or advice.
Perhaps she'd been a little too distant — a little too sharp. (Scary? Was that the word? Hmm.) She'd learned only recently how to soften her edges to those around her. Previous to that, only Valeksa had truly ever known what little warmth Amaranth could give.
And so she lagged, watching from a distance as Valeksa and Dimitri exchanged words and smiles. Valeska was practically glowing, her voice incessant between bouts of tremendous coughing. Dimitri, too, shimmered with the light of parenthood. It was a side of Dimitri that was new, and yet there was a certain note about it that felt natural.
Amaranth slowed, keeping her distance as pleasantries were exchanged.
Her gaze scanned, seeking the little ones, but the denning area was already a bit crowded. So, instead, she simply rested on her haunches and listened.
Ksyusha. Cian. Sasha. Siobhan. Éabha. Darragh.
The next generation of Callosums.
![[Image: 94066228_E0eLF7Ucji8C6n7.png]](https://f2.toyhou.se/file/f2-toyhou-se/images/94066228_E0eLF7Ucji8C6n7.png)
Valeska is allowed in any of Amaranth's threads