Stone Circle sticks

Riley had not missed Laurel's change in demeanor. His reaction was slightly different than Charles' - where Charles may have felt something missing, Riley only felt a sense of vindication. Maybe he wasn't deserving of his mother's attention -- or maybe, he just wasn't the type to beg. If Laurel thought them loveless bastards, then he would prove her right -- he would be the monster he always thought he saw in his aunt's (and sometimes mother's) gaze. He was terribly young to have such thoughts of harmful independence and a loathing of weaklings ingrained into him, but that was his upbringing. Riley knew nothing else.  

He had seen Charles and marked him the way a hunter marked his prey; he watched his brother prowl to a stick, pouncing. He noted the disappointment when his brother realized his error, and smiled the serene smile of a bully as he loudly stepped towards Charles. The stick was held in his gaze with a piggish interest.  Suddenly, and solely because it was held between Charles' paws, Riley wanted it.