Redhawk Caldera In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree

Pain and regret mingled with amusement and pride when she spoke of Killdeer. To him, it sounded like they'd had a great kid. Ambitious, stubborn, playful...But none of that had anything to do with his influence. He'd been gone before Killdeer had even opened his eyes; there was nothing about him that Killdeer could look up to, or hear, and remember who he was. 

He sighed softly. He wasn't sure if Fennec was trying to extend an olive branch by saying that Killdeer did seem a bit like his father, but the quality she said they shared nearly broke his heart. She said that he cared...A lot. He felt his throat grow sore, and he had to clear it as he fought back a surprised noise. 

She still felt like he cared?

It made him feel bad- because he did care, very very much. He'd done what he could to lead the hunters away to keep them safe, even though it had made him reckon with the atrocious fact that he might never see them again in the process. But he'd been too soft to disappear forever, too attached. 

"I guess we'll, uh," And he was treading as lightly as he could while also trying not to allow the overwhelming surge of emotion to wreck him again, "Have our paws busy," He said. A dreadful fear caught him, and he froze for a moment before he swallowed hard and asked. "Are you...Will you...Do you...You want me to be around him? I.....I missed you both so, so much," The effort he'd taken to conceal his feelings failed him. now. "An' I want...I want to just...Be here, for both of you but I....I-I-I know maybe...If you feel differently...You're his Mom." His heart raced. The last thing he wanted was for her to put up boundaries to keep him from his son but...If she chose to do that, it wasn't as though he hadn't had it coming.