Keen had never been on a train before, and she wasn’t sure if she liked it. She was reared up with her forelegs resting on the seal of the window, her muzzle pressed to the glass as the world drifted past her vision. It was an interesting sight but – after having flown in the clouds with Lightning – it wasn’t the most amazing of things. Still, with the curious ca-clack ca-clack of the wheels and the constant rocking and the interesting scenery, this was certainly a novel experience for her.
Her ears perked to the soft sound of humming. A glance revealed Octavia in the opposite seat, her forehead pressed against the glass and a gentle smile on her lips. Her eyes were glazed over, staring out the window as if there were great wonders somewhere beyond that glass pane. She looked so… calm.
Keen listened to her pleasant humming. She had a nice voice. She recognized the song, too; Octavia had played it on her cello a few times. It was slow and made Keen feel just a little sad.
The filly leaned against the window and closed her eyes. Her mind repeated the quiet tune as her body swayed. It had a certain, familiar rhythm. Oh… Octavia was trying to go with the train. That was neat.
Keen could almost feel the hoof brushing her mane. In her mind, Octavia’s gentle humming started to sound different, but still familiar. Keen knew who she was thinking about… and the image began to form. Blue body, black mane, a tender smile. She’d been so pretty…
The song came to its drifting end and the image began to fade. Keen pouted, a lone hoof reaching up to reach for that pretty face… and only touching cool glass.
“Oh, I forgot I had an audience.”
Keen opened her eyes, surprised to find her vision blurry. She sniffed and rubbed her face before turning her head to Octavia. The mare smiled down at her. She really did have a beautiful smile.
Octavia leaned forward a little at the sight of Keen’s face. “Are you okay?”
“Mm-hmm.” The filly sat down to rub her eyes once more. “I just was thinking about mom. Your song reminded me…”
The smile weakened. “I see. I’m sorry.”
Keen offered a smile of her own, knowing it was frail. “It’s okay. I liked it. It’s just that she used to sing me to sleep… and I miss her.”
Octavia thought on this for a moment, a hoof to her chin and her eyes studying her only companion in the private suite. “I understand. Had I known that, I might have handled certain things a little differently.”
Keen tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing.” Octavia’s smile returned. “I always find myself humming on trains. I think they’re very soothing. Of course, when you’ve been riding trains for as long as I have…” She shrugged and leaned against the window once more, her eyes going out to the scenery. “Taking the train from city to city is one of my favorite things about my job.”
Keen glanced about at the small room, her curiosity piqued. “Do you always ride in a private room?”
Octavia blushed and didn’t meet the filly’s eye. “I didn’t used to, no. I couldn’t afford it. I can barely afford it now. But… I like to have a certain ‘look.’ I think it makes ponies respect me more.”
“Think?” Keen raised an eyebrow as she tried to make sense of this. “Are you not sure?”
Octavia giggled. “Aren’t you the observant one?”
“Everypony keeps telling me that.” Keen kicked at her seat with a frown. “Maybe I ask too many questions.”
“Don’t think that.” Octavia reached over to set a hoof beneath Keen’s chin, making her look into her eyes. “It’s not a bad thing, Keen. You should ask questions whenever you feel like it.”
The filly’s ears perked. “In that case… why isn’t Upper Crust here with you? Isn’t she going to Nildia, too?”
Octavia smiled and nodded. “She spent the last two days in Canterlot visiting her husband. It’s only proper.”
“Oh.” A familiar worry had Keen bowing her head again. Her eyes looked up to Octavia. “Is he the one that got turned into a monster?”
Now it was Octavia who raised an eyebrow, her smile curling up on one side. “Monster?”
Keen nodded, her face half-hidden in her mane. “She told me there are lots of dumb monsters in Canterlot, and that one of her friends had become one. She used to be one too, but she says you helped her become a pony again.”
Octavia’s shoulders shook as she covered her lips. “Well, I suppose that’s one way to look at it.”
Keen eyed Octavia, an idea coming to mind. “How did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Turn her back into a pony?”
Octavia giggled. “I like to think she did it on her own… but I suppose you could say I reminded her of what it is to be ‘normal.’”
Keen drooped and turned her eyes back to the window. “So there’s no way to just… ‘fix’ a monster?”
Octavia sighed and shook her head. “I can’t say I know too much about monsters. But don’t you worry, little filly; Upper Crust was right when she said the monsters of Canterlot were dumb. They’re harmless and you have nothing to be afraid of.”
Keen kept her silence, not willing to say that it wasn’t the Canterlot monsters she was thinking about.
Looking to distract herself, Keen glanced at Octavia. “Do you miss your family in Nildia?”
“Indeed.” Octavia leaned against the window once more, pressing her forehead against the glass. Her eyes didn’t leave Keen, though. “My little brother is a very important pony there. It’ll be nice to see him again. But…” She frowned and averted her eyes. “Well, I haven’t spoken to my sister in a long time.”
Keen turned to her, her attention caught by the dark clouds in her occasional foalsitter’s eyes. “Why?”
“We had an argument.” The confession came easily, but still Octavia wouldn’t meet Keen’s gaze. “She left, and neither of us tried to talk again.”
“Oh.” Keen lowered her head, a familiar sadness filling her. “You don’t love her?”
A weary sigh came from Octavia. Keen was a little surprised; she’d never seen Octavia so unhappy. “It’s not that I don’t love her. It’s… complicated.”
“Will you see her while you’re there?”
Octavia glowered at the window. “Don’t have much choice.”
Keen sat back and studied her. For some reason, she kept thinking on her parents.
“You should talk to her.”
Octavia blinked and turned her eyes on the filly, her lips set in a frown. “You think so?”
That sadness was growing. Keen bowed her head and nodded. She felt… she didn’t know how to describe it. Like a rag that had been squeezed dry one too many times.
“While you still can.”
The mare sucked in a sharp breath. Silence filled the small room, save for the eternal ca-clack ca-clack of the railroad. Keen could only stare at her hooves and let that strange, familiar sadness seep in a little more.
She jumped as she was abruptly lifted into a tight hug.
“You’re right, Keen,” Octavia whispered in her ear. “You’re so right. I promise, I’ll talk to my sister. I won’t come home until I do.”
Keen managed a small smile, though her sadness lingered. “Maybe not that long? I’d miss you.”
“And I’d miss you, too.” Octavia held Keen back a bit so she could rub their muzzles together. “That’s why I’ll have to talk to her soon after I get there. Don’t worry, Keen, your foalsitter will be back before you know it.”
Keen wrinkled her muzzle at the prolonged contact, unable to resist a grin.
“Hey.” Their eyes turned to the new voice. Lightning sat in the doorway with a smirk and pounded her hooves together. “Hooves off; that’s my kid.”
Before Keen could respond, Octavia engulfed her in a tight hug and turned away from Lightning, though she kept her face aimed her way. “I don’t know, LD, I might be tempted to keep her.”
Keen actually liked that idea. A little. She peered over Octavia’s shoulder to see Lightning step into the room with a wicked smile. “Well I hope you’re ready to fight for her, then.”
Octavia sat up straight and once more held Keen at leg’s length. She peered at the filly, then Lightning, then back again. At last she sighed and set Keen down on her seat. “I only give her up because you’ve caught me unprepared and I really don’t like roughhousing, but next time…”
“Ha!” Lightning jumped into the seat next to Keen and ruffled the filly’s mane, which only served to annoy. “Sorry, Little Bolt: you’re stuck with me.”
That was one apology Keen wasn’t quite ready to accept. She shoved her mane back into place and turned from Lightning, resting her legs on the windowsill again and watching the landscape fly by with a pout. She hardly noticed how Lightning’s shoulders slumped.
Octavia’s tone returned to its usual pleasantness. “So, did you get everything you needed from Rainbow?”
“Too much, actually.” Lightning sighed and leaned back in her seat, her hoof quietly brushing Keen’s mane. “I’m grateful she’s letting me share responsibilities with Cloud Kicker while she’s gone, but I really think she’s worrying too much. I’ve told her a thousand times, if I have any questions her second’s right there. She seems to think I won’t even bother to ask them.”
“Well, you do have a reputation.”
Lightning exhaled slowly and slouched a little more in her seat. “I know…”
Keen eyed Lightning’s reflection in the window. She looked… sad. That was odd to Keen, though; Lightning always got mad, not sad, especially when it came to Miss Dash. Then again, there were a lot of things Lightning had been doing differently these past two days, ever since she’d come back from that first trip to Canterlot. When she’d picked Keen up from Miss Airheart’s, Lightning had seemed so happy. In fact, ‘happy’ had been the main word for Lightning since then.
Keen wanted to read? Lightning read with her.
One last lesson with Twilight? Lightning stayed to watch, and constantly praised her.
Time for sleep? Lightning actually slept in the bed.
A trip to Sugarcube Corner, a visit to Nye’s, taking an extra day off and spending every moment of it with Keen.
The filly had no idea what had come over her guardian. On the first night she’d actually wondered if Lightning hadn’t been captured and replaced by one of those Canterlot monsters, though she soon decided that was silly. Keen had actually dared to hope Lightning was improving, but her confusion and uncertainty wouldn’t go away. After all, why would Lightning change so… suddenly?
So Keen did something she knew was dangerous: she pried. She tried to ask about the Wonderbolts Academy, and Lightning dodged. She tried again later, asking about the cold front. Again, Lightning avoided the question. Last night she ventured near the worst of all topics: the orphanage monsters. Lightning didn’t just avoid that subject; she refused to even acknowledge it.
That was all Keen needed. Lightning hadn’t changed, not really. Maybe she was trying to, but she hadn’t. How long would it be before she reverted back to her mean ways? When would she stop pretending to like the things Keen knew she didn’t? The thoughts only left the filly feeling even more depressed than usual.
For a moment, just the tiniest time, she’d actually hoped.
“Hey, Keen?”
She glanced up to see Lightning watching her through the window’s reflection.
“Would you like something from the dining car? Pinkie says there are sweets.”
Keen huffed and dropped her chin to her legs. “No, thank you.”
Lightning wilted.
The image actually hurt a little. Keen felt as if she was being unfair… so she turned to look up at Lightning. “Then again… maybe they’ll have something in mint?”
Lightning perked up almost instantly. “I bet they do! Come on, I’ll let you pick something.”
“Okay.”
Keen wished she could conjure some enthusiasm.
Keen and Lightning had been sitting in the waiting room for over an hour, and both were very bored. Keen had spent the past thirty minutes just trying to think of an appropriate description of the place. Dark grey walls, bland white floors, silly posters that grew old quickly, toys stacked neatly in a corner, adult ponies looking anxious with foals who mostly looked bored. Keen didn’t know what this place was or why Lightning had been so determined to come here after seeing the Nildia team off, but she did know she didn’t care for it.
Sterile. For some reason, that was the word that kept coming to mind.
She glanced at Lightning, who was lying next to her on an old, worn out bench. She had her forehooves set together in a contemplative fashion, her lips pressed to them and her eyes constantly shifting. Every now and then her wings would twitch or her tail would flick. Keen had never seen her look so… worried.
What was this place? What were they doing here? Why did Lightning seem so scared? Keen had so many questions, but the sterile silence – there was that word again – almost made her afraid to speak up. Keen wanted to leave, to get some air… but she held her tongue and stayed close to Lightning. She had a strange feeling that this was the kind of place where ponies who got separated never found one another again. Although Keen wasn’t sure if losing Lightning would be a bad thing, Keen was sure she didn't know what she’d do without her.
Not in this place.
“Miss Dust.”
The call was almost robotic. Keen looked over to see a hefty unicorn mare by an open door, her muzzle pressed against a clipboard. Some ponies had gone through that door before, but none had come out.
“Come on, kiddo.” Lightning’s voice was subdued as she slowly stepped off the bench. Keen hesitated, her mind still churning over possibilities, but did as she was told. Her hooves made an unpleasant clicking sound on the hard floor that made her wince.
The two of them walked through the door, Keen keeping near Lightning. Her heart was pounding as they passed the threshold only to find themselves in a bland hallway stretching to the left and right. The big mare led them along without a word, her eyes constantly going over the clipboard hovering just before her.
“How long has the foal been in your care?”
“Umm…” Lightning glanced down at Keen. Her chin was trembling. “F-four months, give or take a week.”
“Are you aware that it is unlawful to care for a foal without consent from a licensed and registered social worker?”
Lightning winced. “Not until yesterday.”
“Hmm…” The unicorn paused by a door that, to Keen, looked just like every other door in the hall. “There will be two separate interviews today, one for you and one for the foal. Neither will be present for the other, understood?”
Lightning fidgeted. “Yeah, I got it.”
Keen peered at Lightning. What was going on?
The mare knocked on the door, and a couple seconds later it opened to reveal a short, orange stallion wearing a blue suit. Unlike the sterile mare – there it was again! – he offered a charming grin.
“Good evening. You must be Miss Lightning Dust! I’m Solid Persuasion, but everypony calls me ‘Percy.’” He held out his hoof, which Lightning hesitantly shook. He spotted Keen and his grin broadened. “And you must be Keen Arrow. It is very nice to meet you, miss.”
Keen slipped behind Lightning’s tail, gazing up at him from between strands of hair.
Lightning shifted and blushed. “She’s… really shy.”
“I see.” Percy chuckled and stepped aside so there was a clear path to the door. “I will be conducting the interview with Keen, if that’s okay. My partner next door will be with you, Miss Dust.”
“That’s… fine.” Lightning stepped aside, and Keen ducked as her hiding place left her behind. She looked up at the stallion with big eyes.
“It’s okay, Miss Arrow.” Percy gestured invitingly for her to enter. “We’re just going to talk for a little bit. Lightning will be very close by should you want her.”
Keen fidgeted and looked to Lightning for guidance.
“It’s okay, Little Bolt.” Lightning dropped to her belly to nuzzle Keen’s cheek. “He’s right, I’ll be nearby. You don’t think I’d leave you alone with any monsters, now do you? Percy’s… trying to help.”
Keen didn’t think Lightning would know a monster if it was staring her in the face. She shook her head and moved just a little closer to Lightning, the only sure source of safety.
The unicorn mare coughed and tapped her clipboard with an ominous frown.
Percy seemed much more patient. He dropped to his knees and maintained his pleasant smile. “It’s okay, Miss Arrow. You can trust me.”
There was that phrase: ‘trust me.’ It only made Keen shuffle a little farther back, her heart pounding as her mind shifted to Peace Spring.
Lightning chewed her lip and glanced at Percy. She leaned in close to whisper in Keen’s ear. “Please, Keen. This won’t work unless you go talk to him.”
Keen looked up at her, her head tilting just a little. “What won’t work?”
Lightning’s face turned red, her eyes flicked in all directions. “I… well… I’m trying to… y’know…”
Percy set a hoof to Lightning’s shoulder, his expression soft. Lightning flinched at his touch and stared at him with wide eyes… then bowed her head in defeat.
“Keen?” Percy leaned forward to look her in the eye. “Lightning brought you here because she wants to raise you.”
That Keen could understand. Her eyes went wide and the air left her small lungs. She looked up at Lightning, who had a sheepish smile and still couldn’t meet Keen’s eye.
“R-really?”
At last, Lightning was able to meet her gaze. Her lips worked soundlessly, her eyes shined. In the end she settled for a mere nod.
Keen bowed her head, her breathing finally kicking back in. She took a few slow, careful breaths as she tried to take this news in. Lightning was trying to… to adopt her. Was that a good thing? Did she want Lightning for a mom?
The adults were waiting. Keen realized that she would have to talk to Percy, whether she wanted to or not. What if talking to him led to her being adopted? What if… what if he thought Lightning couldn’t do it? What if Keen said something wrong?
Then again, what defined wrong?
Did she want Lightning to adopt her… or not?
Her mind running rampant with questions, Keen did the only thing she could: she entered the room.
The interview room was small, consisting of a round table with two lounging couches. A chalkboard was on one wall and a number of old-looking toys were neatly stacked in an open cabinet in the corner. The floor was made of a red carpet and the wooden paneling on the walls were decorated with all sorts of bright pictures. It was a much livelier place than the rest of the building had been.
The door closed softly, but even that was enough to make Keen jump.
“Please, have a seat.”
Keen did as she was told, moving slowly to one of the couches and climbing up. She turned to the table to find some sheets of paper and crayons. A small jar filled with lollipops was just beyond her reach.
Percy sat opposite her, still holding that pleasant smile. He set a notebook and quill down on the table.
“Thank you for agreeing to talk, Keen. I really appreciate it.”
Keen only nodded from behind her mane.
He rested his forehooves to the table and studied her for a few seconds. “Keen, do you understand why you’re here?”
She nodded, reconsidered and shrugged.
“You’re here because it’s my job to determine if you’d be happy living with Lightning.”
Keen looked up at him. She couldn’t tell if her heart was sinking or rising.
“Do you understand?”
“I think so.” Keen shifted from hoof to hoof and bowed her head. “Sometimes ponies like you would visit the orphanage.”
Percy tilted his head, his ears perking and his quill rising in preparation. “Keen, can you tell me about the orphanage?”
She chewed her lip and averted her eyes. “Do… do I have to?”
“No.” He leaned forward a little. “No, Keen, you don’t. But if you tell me, it might help me make a better decision for you.”
Keen still couldn’t meet his gaze. “I didn’t like it. It was scary.”
“Scary?” His voice took on a certain ‘curious’ tone, the kind that told Keen he was trying to goad her on. “Why was it scary?”
Keen closed her eyes. She made herself think of what she’d seen, of those terrible clicking laughs and the blue eyes. “B-because of the monsters.”
“Monsters?” He sat up straight, a frown forming on his lips. The quill started scribbling. “Keen… what kind of monsters?”
Keen considered the question. How best to describe them? She fidgeted, her eyes roaming about. They landed on the crayons.
Using her magic, she pulled out the blue and brown ones and drew.
“Keen? What are you drawing?”
She said nothing, she just focused on the picture. She knew she was bad at drawing, but hopefully he’d understand. She finished quickly and pushed the paper across the table to him.
He leaned over the paper… and his eyes went wide. The quill went to work again as he sat up straight and set his hoof over the picture, his gaze falling upon her. “Keen… is this the monster from the orphanage?”
She nodded. “They took away the other foals,” she whispered. “They all became monsters.”
He exhaled a long, slow breath, raising his hooves up as if to distance himself from the picture. “And… what happened to the monsters?”
“They died.” She said it quickly, as if the words were poisonous. “Lightning got me out, and the villagers burned the orphanage down. All the monsters were inside, except one.”
“One?” He cocked his head yet again. More scribbles. “What happened to it?”
Keen closed her eyes. She could still see that creature standing over Lightning as she bled. Keen remembered how Fine appeared seemingly from nowhere to use that knife he always carried.
“It’s dead. A… a friend saved us.”
“A friend?”
“Uncle Fine.”
“And who is Uncle Fine?”
“A friend.”
Percy rubbed his chin, his expression somber but soft. “Is he Lightning’s brother?”
Keen shook her head.
More scribbling. “Is he really your uncle?”
Another shake of the head.
“Then why do you call him ‘uncle?’”
Why was he so interested in Uncle Fine? Keen turned her head away with a pout and a heavy heart. “Because he said he can’t be my dad.”
“Did you want him to be your dad?”
A nod.
Scribble. “Why?”
Keen winced. Her eyes went to the door as she shifted a little more. Suddenly she felt so very, very sad. Not just sad, but upset. She wanted to talk so badly…
“Promise not to tell Lightning?”
Percy smiled and set a hoof to his heart. More scratching from the quill. “I promise in Celestia’s name.”
Keen held back, thought on it for a moment. Why was it so hard? She struggled to open her lips, to get the words out. She knew she had to answer...
Her mouth opened. The words poured out.
“Uncle Fine is nice. He talks to me when I’m sad or scared, he helps me when I’m in trouble. He shows up when I need to talk, he doesn’t get mad because I have nightmares, sometimes he even reads to me. And when he’s with Fluttershy they’re always so happy together and they make me happy and I really wanted him to be with her but he said he can’t. He’s… he’s…”
She bowed her head, already running out of steam.
“He’s so… good.”
Percy had listened with a calm smile, his quill working the whole time, but at that last line his smile faded. “You don’t think Lightning is good?”
Keen sniffed and shook her head. “She’s trying. I know she is, she’s trying real hard. But she doesn’t like that I have nightmares, and she never talks to me like… like mom did, or dad. Sometimes she’s gone all day, but I don’t mind that; I like my foalsitters. They’re real nice.”
“I see.” Scribble. “Lightning isn’t nice?”
Keen frowned and turned her head away. She felt a small flame in her heart; suddenly she didn’t want to talk anymore.
The quill stopped. Percy leaned back to study her with a hoof to his chin. After a few seconds he smiled. “Tell me about your foalsitters.”
Keen frowned; shouldn’t he be asking about Lightning?
“Keen?”
She sighed, that little fire growing. “There’s Miss Octavia and Upper Crust. They live together. Airheart’s new, I was with her for the first time the other day. She lives in a cloud, though, so Twilight has to cast a spell for me to walk up there. Oh, Twilight is my magic teacher. I guess she’s a foalsitter, too.”
Percy’s eyes went wide. “Twilight? As in Twilight Sparkle?”
Keen nodded, not meeting his gaze.
The quill started working again.
“Does Lightning pay Miss Sparkle to teach you?”
Keen shook her head. “She’s very nice. All my foalsitters are.”
“So I see.” Scribble. “Are there any other foalsitters?”
Keen looked to her hooves. She wished he would stop asking questions. She wished she knew why she was getting so upset.
“Keen?”
“Fluttershy.” She huffed and kept her eyes on her hooves. “She’s my favorite.”
Scribble. “Why?”
“Because she’s the nicest.”
Scribble.
She turned her peering eyes to him. “What are you writing?”
The quill stopped. Percy sat up straight and stared as if he was seeing her for the first time. After a moment, he regained his charming smile. “I’m taking notes. It’s important for my job.”
She raised an eyebrow, her lips set in a pursed frown. “My foalsitters are important for your job?”
He nodded. “I may need to talk to them later.”
“Why?”
He blinked, but recovered quickly. “Don’t worry, Keen. I’m only looking out for what’s best for you.”
The fire burned brighter. Keen’s horn glowed and the picture she’d drawn floated up to dangle before his face.
“That’s what they told me at the orphanage.”
His hooves moved very slowly to take the picture from the air. He lowered it to the table, his eyes wide and set on the image. After a few seconds he glanced at the quill, which was still set over the notebook.
He let it drop to the table.
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
Keen kept him locked in a piercing gaze. Her heart was beating with all the speed of a hummingbird’s wings.
“No.”
He nodded and scooted back a little. “Can you tell me why?”
Her answer came quick. “Because you might be a monster.”
His eyebrows rose a little more. He shifted.
“Are you scared of me, Keen?”
Though she maintained her firm glare, she nodded. Very suddenly, all she wanted to do was bolt… yet somehow she was holding his gaze. She realized that there was something else in her, something overriding the fear: anger.
Percy kept his distance and rested his hooves on the table where she could see them. “What about Lightning?”
“I trust Lightning,” she replied easily. “She’s not a monster.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. Despite all the things she doubted, that at least she was absolutely certain of.
“Does she protect you?”
Keen tilted her head one way, then another. She wished she could be certain of him. “She tries. I don’t think she can.”
The quill rose and started scribbling again. Keen glared at it.
“Keen, do you want to live with Lightning?”
It was like being kicked in the stomach. Keen fell to her haunches and bowed her head, wishing she had a good answer. “I… I don’t know.”
Scribble.
Keen’s ear twitched. Her anger began to rise again.
“Would you rather live with somepony who can protect you?”
She trembled, her teeth began to grind.
Scribble.
“Is it because she’s mean to you?”
Keen shook her head.
Scribble.
She bristled.
“Keen… do you think you’d be happy if you weren’t living with Lightning?”
She couldn’t speak. She wanted to, but she was just so…
Scribble.
“Stop it!”
Keen jerked about, a small laser flashing from her horn to send the quill flying across the room, a smokey contrail in its wake.
Percy’s eyes went wide. “You can already—”
“I don’t know!” Keen pressed her head to the side of the table as tears started forming in her eyes. “Lightning’s not a mom. When I have nightmares she gets mad. When she tucks me in it’s like she can’t wait to leave! She tells me to ‘deal with it’ and be brave, but I’m not. I want her to hold me like my real mom did! Mom would scold me or spank me if I misbehaved, but Lightning never gets mad anymore. She’s always hiding things, always lying to me, and they aren’t even the good lies!”
She leaned back and buried her face in her hooves with a sob.
“I want to know she cares. She keeps me because of what happened, because I didn’t die. I’m… I’m nothing to her but… but a burden. She doesn’t want me, but she thinks she has to take care of me. She doesn’t know how! Lightning’s not a mom. She doesn’t do mom things…”
She rubbed her cheeks and looked up at Percy. His pleasant manner was gone entirely, replaced with a firm frown.
“It sounds to me like you don’t want to live with her.”
“I don’t know,” she repeated, her head bowing. “She’s not a mom… but she’s trying. She… I think she wants to be one. She saved me, she tries to protect me. She’s always angry at something, but not at me, not anymore. She wants to be good. She wants to be nice. I just… I just wish she would act like a real mom.”
The thought hit her, and it was strong.
“I… I want to see my parents.”
Percy leaned forward, his ears perking. “Your parents?”
She nodded with a sniff. “I want to see them.”
“But Keen… your parents…”
“I know.” She turned her head away with a sigh. “I still want to see them. I want to remember what real parents are like.”
Silence permeated the air for several long seconds. Keen sucked down a deep, steadying breath and waited. She rubbed her cheeks free of tears and kept her eyes on her hooves, waiting for Percy to launch into another barrage of questions. She wasn’t sure she would even bother to answer them anymore. She just wanted to go home. Not to Lightning, no… home to Foal Mountains.
“Keen?”
She nodded to show she’d heard.
“This is very important, so I want you to think carefully before answering. Do you understand?”
Keen looked up, her eyes locked with his. She could see the focus and anticipation in them.
“Keen… Lightning has told us that she wants to raise you, that she wants you to be part of her family. She wants to adopt you, Keen.
“Do you believe her?”
Keen’s stomach clenched, her heart slowed. Her lips worked, but her throat was horribly dry.
She had no answer, for she truly didn’t know. She could only stare and wish she were anywhere else.
The quill returned to the notebook, blackened but intact.
Scribble.