Sedna crumpled to her knees on the silty seafloor, sobbing in rage and despair, screaming her defiance into the water and raising her head to glare at the far-off silhouette of the boat they had pushed her from; it was sailing away, without a care, and she looked down at her mangled hands instead, cringing at the sight and keening, though the places her fingers had been no longer pained her.

A great black head pushed suddenly between her hands, and Sedna's eyes snapped up to meet his as she smiled, softer tears gathering in her eyes. She threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him, and he pressed in, head nuzzling onto her shoulder and one paw coming up to rest across her hip.