Neverwinter Forest and the fire will consume us

He basked in the affection that his father bestowed him with, for once upon a time it had been a fleeting thing. There had always been others to contend with and while now that was surely not the case (yet it was, unbeknownst to him), he took advantage of those stolen moments where he could get them. Yet such a moment was too easily tarnished with the talk of news. Whatever Pasha could gleam out of his father's gaze was little in the way of telling, not that he needed to wait long.

And when the burden of that news was set to weigh on him, it may as well have crushed him. His mouth opened but no words came; rather it was a silent release of breath being stolen from him. The next breath he drew came in sharp and pulled his gaze away. He didn't know quite how to handle such a thing. He blinked uselessly, overwhelmed by the surge of emotions that shook him to his foundation. He gaped like a fish out of water, struggling to find words that still, even as the seconds ticked past, would not come.

So he said nothing, letting only the sag of his frame and splaying ears speak for him.

And then finally, so small and quiet: "Why." He blinked. "Why would he be there? Not here? He would have been safe here," and even those words were useless floundering. And to think, he had missed his brother by mere days when he had gone back to Bazi—it was enough to tempt him to anger—and his brow furrowed with mixed emotions.