Dragoncrest Cliffs Bichir

Thank you for this overwhelming pain. :’)

The boy breathed a tired sigh. The warmth offered by his mother was a small comfort in the roja den. Her words pricked at his eyes. He closed them, afraid of making contact with her face, afraid of seeing the emotional damage that their escape from the bear had caused.

Meerkat sang to him. Swordfish clenched his jaw, smothering the welling emotions inside him. He kept his eyes closed, slowing his breathing until he could have been asleep.

And he pretended to be, when his mother leaned in to whisper her love. The boy did not think that he deserved such good things. As a lump gathered in the back of his throat, Swordfish wished that he could tell her he loved her too. He wished that he could tell her about every heavy stone of feeling that he carried around on his back. The young redtail had hidden away so many times that he had never learned how to open himself up.

So, he pretended to sleep and hoped that it would bring his mother peace.