Rain hit the house with the volume of a thousand drummers pounding the roof. It had been like this all day. Outside, the afternoon was gray and dreary. Clouds drifted slowly close to earth, and the fog lingered even closer. Kansas slipped off the couch where he'd been most of the day, brooding over the terrible consequences of his secret with Naniko. His face was downcast as he headed toward the front door. He lifted himself to his hind paws and opened the door with his front in one fluid, practiced motion. The door swung open to reveal the rainy outside world. A perfect tribute to his sour mood.
Kansas slunk onto the porch. For a moment he stood at the top of the stairs, watching the rain. He liked rain well enough. Even though it had been like this for the past several days, he wasn't tired of it. He wanted to take the puppies outside to play in the rain, but he hadn't been able to do it. He didn't even feel right touching them after what had happened to his daughter. Even now as he thought about it, his pallid face twisted into a pained grimace. He felt more guilty than he ever had in his life—even more so than after what had happened with Lucifer and Naniko.
The boy didn't even feel himself slipping down onto his belly, his paws folded in front of him. He rested his face to the side of his crossed paws and sighed, his shoulders rising and falling with its force. He had to tell Savina that he'd known. It was impossible for him to keep something like that from her. Kansas settled to the grueling work of putting together how he might tell her, an unbelievably difficult task.