Broken Antler Fen and the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon

Would he bring up the accident? Or had he forgotten all about it. Caracal had been so young at the time; a brief flare of shame butterflied within Reyes' stomach as he walked, thinking of how stupid the entire moment was. He'd apologized so many times to Towhee by now but never once to the boy, and even now Reyes wasn't sure how to broach the subject.

Thankfully Caracal was attentive to the subtle tension between them, breaking the ice in his own way. Prattling off praise for his sisters but otherwise displaying the typical only-boy-among-girls response; Reyes knew what that felt like.

Your secret is safe with me, he answered with a bright tone.

Y'know I have a lot of siblings too. Mostly sisters... which he had few memories of, though what he could recall was how close he had felt to Nieve and how protective he had been over all of them, at one time. So I get it. They can be a lot. The twins probably enjoyed one-another's company more by virtue of their sameness, Reyes thought to himself.

Careful not to bring up Caracal's mother, Reyes thought quickly of other things to talk about, and his own came to mind. We're the rare men of the family, kid. We're gonna have to stick together — and you can totally come over whenever they're too much for you. Hell, I used to go adventurin' without my moms all the time.

Which had led Reyes down some dark paths, but, he wouldn't be covering that stuff today, if ever.