Blackwater Islands 2+2=5 (The Lukewarm)

The matriarch draped herself around him like an all-enveloping blanket. Whip had not expected such tenderness from the likes of her, or any wolf of the Nereides for that matter. In fact, he wouldn't have expected this sort of comfort from his own biological mother -- whose own emotional distance had been more damaging to Whip as a child than he had once thought. It took a lot to bring Whip down from the manic place he was. His heart still hammered in his chest. He took shallow breaths at a still alarming rate. But, beneath all that, in his heart Whip felt loved, and that was something he hadn't felt for a very, very long time.

That, he found, was enough.

You're safe.

Shutting his eyes, Whip leaned into Akantha's flank. It was slow, but he could feel the fit begin to fade. The worst was over, the rest would pass with time as it always had before. "I'm sorry," he muttered, suddenly becoming more aware of his actions. "I'm so sorry." He had not wanted to break down like this, especially not in front of the matriarch. It had been so long since his last episode, he had thought it would no longer be an issue -- that it had somehow worked its way out of his system. It had not. Once again, Whip had been wrong.