[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft] Exquisite was a nervous doe to begin with. Half Truth could tell this without looking; it was evident in her mincing steps, her cautious approach a quiet rustle in the grass. She was a timid, trembling beastie at her worst; sensible, with good judgment at her best.

But she wasn’t here for a personality assessment. Kin didn’t seek Half Truth out for that. No, when strange does came to her, it was usually for one thing- a thing she always appreciated being able to do for them.

“You’re in the family way,” she said kindly, before the doe knew that she knew she was there. The purple acha squeaked and dropped the pears she was carrying. It was always nice, receiving gifts- not that she needed payment for her services, but it was a way to share, to get to know her blessees a bit better. What they brought, if they brought anything, was always revealing. Fruit was so highly symbolic.

“You’re in the family way, my dear,” she repeated. “Did you come out here looking for help? I’m afraid you’ve found it, and it’s having her lunch. Come, join me. The marsh grass here is exquisite.”

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft] “S-so am I,” Exquisite blurted out without thinking. “Exquisite. That’s my name. They told me yours was Half Truth?”

“That’s the whole truth of it,” she said with a chuckle, moving over to let the pregnant doe have the tenderest of the stems she’d found.

“You’re definitely the one I’m looking for. I… I feel so silly, having to ask for this. Seems like everybody who has children’s able to do it just fine, but I’ve not got a clue about where to start with parenting. I didn’t grow up with parents, see, and I don’t begrudge them that- but I do fancy keeping my eggs, tending to them, and then looking out for the little ones.”

Half Truth beamed, glad that the little family would be together for a time. Otherwise, she’d have offered to take them- she did so enjoy having kids around. “I think you’ll enjoy it. Do you need help with the mechanics? I can show you h-“

“No! It’s not that!” Exquisite said with a horrified look dawning on her face as she realized she’d interrupted. “I mean, ah, I… I think I know what to do. It’s. It’s how to feel that I’m having trouble with. I don’t know what my own parents felt for me when I was a possibility on the horizon, and I don’t know what to feel for the eggs I’m soon to lay.”

“There’s no one way to feel about having children. Tell me, what do you feel when you think about them?”

Exquisite paused for a moment. “I feel… excited, to think about what they’ll look like. Nervous, of course, because laying eggs is always at least a little risky. But fierce about it, I think- because I know I can do it. And happy, to think about what they’ll be like- when they take their first steps, when they open their eyes, when they wobble about while learning to run. I want to see their little horn buds, and their little hooves, and I want them to know how important they are.”

Half Truth chuckled. “Sounds to me like you already know how to feel about them. That’s love. Creating a family, however you go about it, is always nerve-wracking. Nobody’s ever really ready the first time, or the second time, or even the last time. It’s always a step into the unknown, but you’ve already got a handle on it.”

“Oh!”

“Yeah, kid. You love ‘em already. And they know it. They’ll always know love,” she said, chewing her grass stem and thinking. “They’ll always know that they’re cared for, even when they feel the most alone. You’ve got the strength of mind and strength of heart. So will they.” She gently nuzzled the top of the doe’s head. “They’ll be absolutely exquisite, and they- and you- will always know it.”