Aadya awoke to the faint sound of a feminine voice, and she flapped a little paw. “I . . . I can’t hear!” she panicked. She surely would’ve cried, if not for the fact that she was so dehydrated. Nobody could expect a pup like her to drag herself around to all the water sources. Aadya could in fact hear, but not very well. She was panicky and young. Who could blame her?
She was beside a den. Why was that? And the woman above her-she was so pretty, so big. Aadya’s first instinct was to scream, her next to study the adult. Her violet eyes, her horn. And then of course her coloring. She smelled pups, other young children like her. Hmm. Aadya’s thoughts were foggy, but she could tell that she was in a safe place.
Hungry. So hungry.
Weak. So weak.
“Is there food anywhere?” she asked faintly. “Where’s my mom?” Yes, Aadya had forgotten that her mother was dead. “Is there any scary thing around? I don’t like scary stuff. I’m thirsty.” She coughed with thirst. “Ow.”

“And I, I want all the tears back that I cried!”