Silvertip Mountain Forgive me, son

Mason twisted around on himself to give June a nudge of comfort when she admitted that her well-earned catch had escaped. He gave her a frown, to show quietly that he understood her frustration (after all he had only recently started catching tails) before she greeted Dad and Zari. Mason’s orange eyes turned on his father as he exclaimed over their near-catches, clearly the proud father. Zaria also praised him, which set his heart alight. He smiled happily, tail wagging.

The smile froze on his face. Orange eyes widened as he tried to gulp in some air. He wasn’t sure if he had heard correctly. His gaze flitted between Zari and his father, wondering if this was all some sick joke. The news was certainly descending into the pit of his stomach and settling there unpleasantly.

How he had not seen it coming was a question for another day. Zari had been staying in their den at the invitation of Dad, but she had always slept close to Mason… and, he now realised with another thump of sorrow to his chest, FitzDutiful.

The feeling in his stomach began to bubble and rot, like a cancer eating away at him from the inside. Mason couldn’t move, and his hearing began to waver, with a ringing clamouring in his ears. He felt dizzy and sick, and could not even turn to see how June had taken this news. She couldn’t have known, or she would have told him. 

What his expression looked like from the outside, he could not have known, but it was something akin to stupefied horror. Had he realised, he would not have cared how much this was likely to hurt his father. After all, it was Mason who had been dealt this – the unkindest cut of all.