Redhawk Caldera You're nothing but a pack of smokes and a bag of tricks.

lol sorry for the wait- I was totally hoping Reyes would just gasp and come back to life XD last for me! <3

He continued to try and pump air into Reyes' lungs despite the fact that Sorana screamed at him, and he winced; thinking she would probably bite him, or try to knock him off her father. He could feel her fear, and her anger- and in her voice, he could tell that both weren't just directed at her father, who lay breathless on the ground- but toward him too. With each shove of his paws he felt his heart torn, knowing that the only thing that could save him from this would be if Reyes could come back to life. If he failed-

Thankfully, Bridget showed up, and continued the compressions. He felt some relief, knowing he'd tried to do the right thing- but she also gave him breath, something he had not known to do. What if he had? Had he failed Reyes by not doing this correctly? He heard a thick, heavy white noise creep into his skull, the sound that filled in and while it failed to mute Sorana's sobs completely, it forced them into the background. 

Teya came, and went to her daughter. The shouts faded to sobs; pitiful wails that he knew too well. It was the way his heart wanted to cry out, but he couldn't force a sound past his lips. He watched Bridget, ready to step in and continue, or run to fetch someone- something- anything. But when she pulled back, he tilted his head back and found tears burning hot at the corners of his eyes. Tears of regret seemed to ache more than tears of sadness. 

He couldn't look at Sorana; he felt he shouldn't. He was endlessly grateful for Teya, for coming to her daughter's side, but he felt it would not be fit for him to join them. Teya would need time with her daughter, now; and he would silently, willingly encourage it. Bridget spoke, and her voice seemed to quiet the ringing in his ears. He did not fully believe that they had done everything, not when perhaps there was something else he could have done. Hers was a job he was not cut out for; he could not feel positive about the incident in any way, but he would come to understand how well Bridget conducted herself in retrospect. 

The touch to his shoulder made him feel even more regret. He'd tried, but he'd failed. He didn't blame himself for Reyes' death- something catastrophic had happened to him, from the inside- but he did blame himself for not being able to bring Reyes back. Maybe he'd not been pushing on the right spot. Maybe not hard enough, maybe not fast enough. Maybe he should have been giving Reyes air, as well. All of the maybes plagued him. 

There was nothing else. 

Truly? He did not believe it. If Bridge had been there, rather than him...Maybe she would have recognized something in his mannerisms before he had collapsed. Maybe she might've spotted distress, noticed something different about his scent, the sound of his voice...Maybe, she would have been able to spot the signs of whatever it was that had killed Reyes before it had. He would dwell on the maybes. 

And in the time following Reyes' death, he knew to expect less time with Teya, as Sorana needed her more. He looked to her, to see if he would be dismissed, searching also for some kind of forgiveness for his failure. Whatever she instructed, he would do, even if it meant that he would have to deal with all the maybes on his own.