It was not the first time she'd heard a question like that in response to her queries, though she'd never been compared to an autistic gerbil before. That was new. And quite funny. She would save that one to share with Thoth later.
"I am usually this rude and tactless," Seshat admitted, "in pursuit of knowledge. The unwillingness to ask difficult questions has left many things unknown, and as it is my duty to make sure information is passed along, I tend to ask before I consider the phrasing. My apologies if I offended, that was not my intention. I was simply curious...
"A better life with more than you could give them was promised, but that is a rather vague and nebulous sort of thing," she explained. "Better than what? How could being taken away from their home and mother offer something better? Were the opportunities offered equal to the loss of emotional connection? Were new connections made? Was their bond as siblings strengthened because they were on their own? And whether it was better or not for them, was it better for you? How do you define or quantify or gauge those things? There are no metrics that measure it, so better is still imprecise.
"So my question was not meant to be rude, but a request for clarification so that I can better infer here," she touched three fingers to her temple, "what is really only understood here," she moved her hand to her chest. "There is always a loss in the translation between the two, isn't there? Thousands of years and I'm still searching for a way to put into words all that is felt."
Finished with her explanation, Seshat smiled then at Styx. "I am relieved, though, that you are certain that your children had the better life that you hoped for them. As I said, I do have a soft spot for Kratos, as does my husband, and I would always wish him happy."
Her head tilted to one side, and she asked, "Have you seen many mentally challenged rodents?"