Sea Lion Shores 'Cause they know who is righteous, what is bold, so I'm told

Acheron listened quietly as Tuvaq opened up about his past. It made his heart hurt to hear that his own mother felt so little about him. It made him grateful to have a mother that always made sure he knew how much she loved him. It was even more heartbreaking to hear that the other boy had never had any real friends. It made him realize how much he had really taken for granted. Even now, when he was no longer a member of his pack, he still had their support to fall back on, and that was far more than it seemed Tuvaq had ever had. And he wondered what things his mom let happen to him—the same things his friend was surprised he hadn't done. Whatever it was, it sounded bad and he was kind of afraid to push for clarification. But how could he make sure not to hurt him the same way without asking? Because as he just said, Acheron cared about him very much, and the last thing he'd ever want to do was hurt him. I do care about you...a lot, he said first. I'm sorry about how your mom treated you, he offered. It felt like not enough, but he wasn't sure there was much else he could do to help there. But um, what do you mean by she let stuff happen to you? What stuff? he paused. I just want to make sure I understand so I don't let that stuff happen to you again, he quickly added; he wondered if it would help, though. He half expected to get shut out again, but it was an important enough question to risk it.