The cubs calmed down by degrees.
Sally, appropriately chastened, took the second boy and the third from Leo and rocked them with the focused determination of someone making amends. Leo had Roar against his chest, one large hand spanning the small body completely, the rumbling subsiding as the cub found the warm solidity of his father and decided it was an acceptable substitute for sleep. The girl with heterochromic eyes—had been reclaimed by Alex and was making her displeasure known in short, imperious bursts that were growing less frequent as she nursed again.
Naga watched all of this with the expression of someone cataloging information for future reference.
"System," the serpent lord said, addressing the air in the way everyone had learned to address something without a visible form, "what is your current operational status?"
