The Raven and the Reindeer

by T. Kingfisher

Feeling bad about feeling bad was not significantly better than feeling bad in the first place.

“You broke her! You always break everything! Can’t I ever do anything without you chasing me?” Gerta gaped at him. Janna hissed. “This is why you don’t mate with your nestmates,” said Mousebones pragmatically. “It’s always ‘Oh, yes, and remember the time you ate that cricket that I was supposed to get?’ for the rest of your life.” He paused, and then added, “Well, that and the inbreeding.”