So why am I ten feet under and upside down

Papa looked at him with gentle, soulful eyes. The glimmer seemed duller than it had a few days before, that day when he had agreed for Mama to lead alongside him. They had explained it to Mason. He simply knew that dad was Big Boss of the mountain and could get rid of wolves who were trespassing on the borders. He didn’t know the intricacies yet. Where he had been able to apply FitzDutiful to two roles – doting father and stern bossman - to Mason, his Mama had always simply been Mama. A warm body with a great heart who smelled of milk and sweetness.

His father’s words cut into his speculations. Papa didn’t know where she was. A coppery taste blossomed on Mason’s tongue as panic threaded through his body, creeping along his veins. Mama was gone.

Although his father looked sad, he did not looked worried. Mason clung to that desperately, trying to raise his emotions to match his father’s. Maybe this was normal, and maybe she would just reappear in a few days with a large rabbit clasped in her jaws. Ryuu and Chaska seemed okay, Bindi he had not seen much at all, but they were not quite the same as Mama. Not right now.

But as FitzDutiful pointed out, they still had their father. Mason’s feathery soft tail gave one tiny wag. “Got you,” he echoed softly, stepping forwards and lifting his head so that he could bump his wet nose against the underside of his dad’s chin. “An' Joo,” he added, looking across at his sleeping sister with glistening eyes. He heaved a huge sigh.

“What that?” He turned his face back to the storm and the torrential rain. He meant the sounds of the trees crashing, but he could have meant the storm in general.