Hushed Willows But everything, it all just feels the same

When he saw the smaller boy stumble, Tambourine prepared to swoop in and steady him but Eros managed to stay upright. The Xi smiled at him, though his lips twisted into a frown at Eros's words. He could have refuted them but, well, Tambourine sort of agreed. Amara never seemed to be around and when she was present, she was pretty weird.

"I'm sure she loves you," Tambourine said after a beat, "but maybe she has a funny way of showing it." He shrugged, sighed quietly and then perked up in the next instant. "I like you, if it makes you feel better." He waved his gray tail, hoping it did make a difference.

Just in case it didn't, there was something else Tambourine could do: distract him. "Hey, Eros," he said, suddenly leaping ahead, only to swivel around and drop into a playful bow right in front of the younger pup. "Do you like playing? Do you like snow? Do you like—" Wait for it... "—playing in the snow?" he crowed even as he used an over-sized paw to lob a loose snowball at Eros's face.