It hadn’t occurred to him that his agitation at his own shortcomings would translate into something his new companion would find unwelcoming. He had never truly had to stop and consider such things before, having grown inside the whirlwind of emotions (some his, but many more echoes of the world around him). To him, such chaos is normal, anger and welcome and happiness and grief all tangled into such a snarled knot he’s not certain he could loosen it.
But her nervousness, a wave of hesitation that seems to slam straight into him, gives him pause. The faint echoes of how she had always felt with her closest companions make him wonder what it is about him that changed her.
A frown tugs at his lips as his blue eyes fix on her with a suddenly quizzical stare. “You didn’t startle me,” he replies, his voice suddenly as uncertain as his features. And with his childish lack of caution, he asks, “Why are you scared?”
Though he is frequently privy to things that a colt his age ought not be, his own youth and lack of experience has prevented him from fully understanding it all. Perhaps one day he would possess the self-reflection to understand what had brought about her sudden wariness, but today he is as confused as she.
Almost as an afterthought, Reave adds, “Mom told me about you.”
Which of course she had. Despite the frustration of being unable to pull the memory from thin air moments ago, when her name had passed her lips, it had clicked into place. Though Lilli thought he was her adopted son (Reave knows differently, but the vague memories that had belonged to Brazen are difficult for him to understand, much less vocalize in a way that would have made any sense to Lilli), she had considered him her own in all the other ways that mattered. But even so, when one is an impatient young boy, paying attention to one’s mother is not their strongest ability.
reave
@[Cheri]