Silvertip Mountain Drained

xD sorry this wasn’t intended to be an essay originally!

After a moment of confused hesitation, she drank the miniscule amounts of water quickly. Mason felt bad for not being able to give her more. The delicate pink of her tongue was now escaping from between her fangs; it appeared she was too tired to pant properly, and he was concerned to note just how pale the pink was. She needed rest. Mason felt angry at his Dad for moving them when Zaria was clearly not in a condition to move. Although he was sure she would have pushed herself, and maybe Fitz had not known the extent of her injuries, Mason still couldn’t believe that it had got to this point.

It appeared that the water had given her a thirst. That was good – her reactions were still working properly. Zaria attempted to stand up, and Mason was there alongside her, ready to help. They got her to her paws and then the dappled grey male hovered beside her, ready to dive under her chest and catch her. Although she wavered, she stood strong. Mason felt a thread of pride weaving through his chest.

He moved around her carefully as though she were a delicate glass sculpture. Once he had reached her uninjured side, he hunched slightly and sidled up against her. “It’s okay, you’re hurt Zari. Here – lean on me” he murmured, pressing his shoulder against her uninjured one and taking her slightly weight. He could not fault her for being grumpy, and he would never hold that against her.

He got her to the pool with a bit of trouble. Supporting her slight frame was no issue but her tiredness appeared to cause her confusion with where the place her legs and a few times she stumbled. Mason stood steady. When they reached the edge of the water, his packmate crumpled slowly down to lay beside it. Mason watched her, concerned still. She drank a sensible amount of water and then she appeared to rest herself, closing those pretty green eyes. 

Her words were like a balm to him. Like her, he too was wounded, but his scars couldn’t be seen from the outside. Mason looked down at her, and he felt at a loss. His emotions were conflicted. He knew he shouldn’t carry on feeling this way for her, but it wasn’t as easy as others seemed to think it should be. Thoughts of his Dad were swamping him with anger and also disappointment.

Mason slumped down beside her, pressing his side against her uninjured flank, taking comfort in her closeness. He breathed in her sweetness, then heaved a sigh. Unrequited feelings were hard, but hearing her say it – that she only ever thought of him as a good friend – made some more of the pieces fall into place. Maybe it should have hurt him more, but it didn’t. Instead he felt the first flakes of hope and peace settling along his soul. 

“You are a good friend.” He admitted softly, moving to gently press his muzzle into her neck, and provide her with comfort in her time of pain. He needed Zaria still, for all of his attempts to push her away. He needed his Dad too, although he wasn’t yet ready to admit that. 

If friends was the way he could keep Zaria, that is what she would be. Never a step-mother, not mentioned as his Dad’s mate in conversations, but simply introduced as his friend. That he could cope with. 

“You will always be my friend.” He mumbled into her fur. It was too hard right now to talk about his feelings over her and Fitz’s mateship, the betrayal which had been dealt him like a surprise blow from a spiked club. Maybe in time he could broach it with her. Maybe once his heart stopped fluttering at the sight of her, if it ever could.