Sun Mote Copse at the end of the day

There seemed to be a lot of unspoken things that happened around what Eljay was saying, and seeing as he, Wraen, and Maia had always had their own little clique within the Firebirds, it was difficult for Phox to decipher. Then again, the same could be said about him, Towhee, and Niamh. Why had it been so impossible to merge the two? And why was the pack seemingly always divided like that? It gave Phox a lot to think about, but he paid attention as Eljay continued.

Phox frowned when Eljay said he thought Wraen didn't want him there. Somehow, Phox doubted that. Why wouldn't she want Eljay to go along with them? Or had he talked himself out of it before she'd had a chance to say goodbye? Or maybe he had avoided her for fear that she wouldn't want him along. Whatever the reason, there were too many unknowns for Phox to help in any meaningful way.

Eljay brought up Elfie again, and Phox winced. Elfie had been in his care, and it was something he would never fully forgive himself for. I wish... I wish we'd been able to find him. I know he was in my care, and he... the landslide and everything... Phox's concussion had resulted in some time and memory loss, including whatever he'd said to Elfie before he'd attempted to scramble over the pile of rocks.

I should have done better, and I'm sorry for that.