I'm just an angel that's fallen from grace
He could hear his thoughts. He knew Reilly thought mother beautiful, loved those plain, brown eyes of hers and the plain, brown hair. Maybe he even loved the rest of her too, but he couldn't be sure. Not from just today's thinking. But Reilly liked them too, and that felt good. It felt good when he ruffled through their manes and breathed into their hair. He beamed up at him happily as he bumped his little nose at him, completely content in the Irishman's big presence.
From that time before, when he'd heard the other voice in momma's head and saw the pain in her reaction, he had learned that this thing he could do was not normal. And that it was bad. It made her hurt to speak her thoughts, and so he never let on again that he could. But he couldn't seem to shut it off, and so he listened without comment. Listened to Reilly think on all things he liked about mother. Listened to Kylin think on all the things she liked about him.
And he liked that.
He liked that she cared so much about him, that she felt comfortable and safe at his side even though they were both still so young. He liked that his touch meant something to her each time he brushed a wing over her back as they followed Reilly. So he did it again, just to hear her. He listened to her with a warmth growing in his chest as he spoke to Reilly.
Will you always be here, Reilly? Suddenly, this was very important to him. Reilly was the closest thing to a father they had, and he wasn't really attached to momma, so maybe he'd be leaving them. His wing brushed over Kylin again, a small smile pinching the corner of his mouth. He leaned to sweep his nose faintly against her cheek, just to see how she responded, just to listen to her thoughts.
I don't want you to ever leave, he told the man solemnly as they continued walking by his side. He dug into his memory for things momma might have thought about Reilly, wondered if there was something he could say that would keep him here with them. But her thoughts had hurt her to tell them, so maybe he shouldn't. Maybe one day he'd know a way to tell if one thought would not hurt like others seemed to. So for now, he kept them to himself.
