Sun Mote Copse how hard did i just seal the deal

Last one for me, thank you both! <3

Seal's and Meerkat's lips moved, but the sound that came out of them was little more than roaring static. It filled all of Stingray's senses, blotting his vision into swimming black spots, blocking out the ambient sounds of the loch, and turning his sensibilities to water. No matter how futilely he tried to bite at the frayed ends of his composure, to catch and hold them, they eluded his grasp.

He was transported back to that day.

WHERE'S MY SON???

They had found traces of Swordfish after that, but never any answers. Believing Swordfish was alive and well was what had carried Meerkat through it, but believing his brother must be dead was what carried Stingray. Now that he was faced with the reality, he forgot every minute they had spent scouring the Tangle and surrounding area for Swordfish. He forgot how they had found traces of his scent and concluded that he must have run off on his own.

He forgot that it was Swordfish who had left them, and was left only with the pain of having abandoned his most beloved sibling, his brother from the womb.

Ray scarcely heard Seal's instructions, but he felt her chest swell with a breath and unconsciously matched it. In. Out. The weight of Meerkat embracing him began to calm his racing heart. In. Out. The blue eyes stared at him from the backs of his eyelids. In. Out.

Gradually, Stingray came back to himself.

When he felt steady enough, he allowed himself to be guided back to The Taigh. In the days to come he would struggle immensely with the temptation to go off and find Swordfish, at first to show his brother how much he cared, and later to accost his brother for leaving them and never returning. In the end, he would do neither of those things. He would eventually accept the dismal knowledge that Swordfish had made his decision and it was not Stingray's place to correct it.

Even Vixen's unexpected return could not pierce the black cloud that would descend upon him once he did.