Moonspear Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

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Their tandem walk came to an abrupt stop and Wildfire felt her heart leap into her throat. Had her question hit such a tender spot that it had caused Jace to stop in his tracks? Apologies began bubbling to her lips but before she could so much as open her mouth, he dropped to his haunches with a quiet sigh and began to spin a tale. Wildfire's lips pursed anxiously, though she followed suit, slowly sinking onto her hindquarters. Her amber eyes were riveted to a spot near his collarbone, ears quivering as he spoke.

Her mother made another cameo in this story and Wildfire's lips twitched ever so slightly. Peregrine had told his children about Fox's kamikaze habits as a yearling; it had been part of the story about how they'd met, actually. But parallels aside, Wildfire pushed away any thoughts of her parents and concentrated on Jace's description of his relationship with Leaf. The lack of closure bothered her, as it must surely bother him, and her eyes flicked upward very briefly to flash him an apologetic smile. She saw the shimmer of tears behind his eyes and dropped her own again, feeling bad for bringing all of this up in the first place.

When he shifted to showcase his scars, she glanced upward again, gaze unwavering for a moment. Leaf and her mother sounded like they'd had a lot in common back in the day. Wildfire frowned when Jace finished his story by mentioning that he'd died a little the day Leaf had left. He then stood and Wildfire could read his body language pretty well. He was shifting a bit restlessly, as if feeling strange after imparting such an emotional story, but there were also notes of relief on his dark face.

"I'm so sorry, Jace. And I'm sorry for bringing it up. But I'm glad you shared with me," the youth said a bit weakly. "Maybe I ought to leave you alone to finish your walk in peace?" she suggested lightly in the next breath, giving Jace an out in case he would rather be left alone after unloading all that.