Sun Mote Copse They will feign an expression of sadness

Bronco nodded feverishly. "He did, Mom, he did," He said, his voice cracking as he finally lost his composure and began to break down. This was the crux- and if his mother took Elfie's side, he would never forgive her for it. He hated Elfie- he felt betrayed, he felt angry, and he felt...Sad. At the very heart of the situation, Elfie had plucked an extremely sensitive chord that Bronco had been doing his best to hide away, keeping it out of sight from anyone who went looking at it. At the end of the day, what Elfie had done had been to remind Bronco that his Dad was dead- that he was gone, and that he was never coming back. That putting flowers on his grave...Well, they would be flowers that looked nice, but Colt would never see them. He wouldn't see how gently and kindly Sugar had placed them there, nor the way that she seemed keen on removing them once they'd wilted and replacing them with fresh, happy, new ones. Colt couldn't see how nice Sugar was being. He couldn't even see how horrible Elfie was being. He couldn't step in to put Elfie in his place, to tell him off for making his son upset, or to teach him a lesson. Colt couldn't do any of those things- and it hurt Bronco to know that, and to truly feel it. 

His mother seemed to be a bit torn at first...But he could tell that she, too, was hurt. He could se her jaw clench, and he felt warm knowing that there was some form of solidarity between the two of them. Niamh felt it too- she felt just as offended as he'd been, and she looked almost as angry, though he could tell she was holding a lot back. There was a hoarse throatiness to her voice that spoke volumes; his Mom was not happy with this situation whatsoever, and it made him respect her- and even fear her a bit- knowing that she could potentially go savage on Elfie if he pushed her the wrong way. It pleased him to be reassured that his Mom was going to teach Elfie a lesson, to knock him down a few pegs, and he hoped that she was able to make him squeal and cry and beg for mercy. That was just how much he resented the boy for making him feel the way he had. Bronco snuggled against his mother, relaxing against her soft side, reveling in the knowdlege that at the end of the day- even though he did have a mean Mom- at least there would be days where his mean Mom would be on his side- and that she could direct her wrath at any enemies he might find. 

"Okay," He huffed softly. He would spend the next hour or so, continuing to reiterate the story- venting his frustrations to his mother who empathized with him on each and every point. They didn't see eye to eye on much, but what Bronco realized then, was the fact that at the end of it all- for all the times they butted heads and argued and fought- they did share a very strong love not only for each other, but for the family they had- broken or not.