He answered, as always. He came back, as always, like the pitiful dog he was, but god help him if he didnât do it with the force of every twisting thing inside of him; every shapeless, dangerous thing, painful as they were senseless. He would teach him, if it killed him, not to call him back anymore. He would teach him, if it killed him, not to care.
All giving a damn ever did was make everything so hard. So complicated. So â
âOf what?â Falco snapped. âLosinâ the team? Losinâ my friends? Beinâ alone? Is that what Iâm afraid of?â
âNo - thatâs you. And Iâm nothinâ like you,â he said. âI donât need people sitting on my wing every damn second to keep me from getting blown away. I donât need my friends to hand me jobs outta pity. And I donât whine like a bitch when people walk out, âcause thatâs what people do. I donât care about any of this namby-pamby bullshit â â
Falco drove the word away with a finger in Slippyâs chest.
â â so you can go cry about how afraid you are to someone who does. You ainât my problem anymore.â
     As a child heâd been adverse to confrontation, so much so the very idea of it would lock the breath in his chest in a vice so tight it would terrify him. This wasnât much different, maybe--Heâd seen Falco afraid once or twice, though the Avian would never admit the emotion heâd harbored in those moments their lives depended on it. There was knowing fear and understanding fear, and then there was this--directionless, rudderless aggression, and Slippy frowned.
Fox did this too, in his own way, they were similar. There had always been a balance to their invisible luggage, and the ballast they knew kept them steady once now faltered, wavering with the passing hours. The weight had been disturbed, there was a hole where someone important once resided, and no degree of bickering now would make that reality less difficult to swallow.
The mechanic didnât combat those jabs, they had been true enough. Of course he feared loneliness, he feared the loss of his friends--of his FAMILY--
     âYou can lead a horse to water, but you canât make it drink.â
â--Youâre not the only one leaving, Falco.â
It came frankly, level--just like always. Slippy toad knew fear, what living creature could say they didnât? What he didnât fear was Falco.
      âFox is going. I donât know where,
         Heâs not said he is, but I know.
       I know you say you donât care, fine.
    You donât have to convince me, Falco. You have to convince YOU first.
--No one said you were caged here, least of all me.
      I thought youâd give a damn, is all.
         --Especially about him.â
germansingergirl
yousharknotpass
dailybridgerton
kianamaiart
dededos
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
snowghoul
discoholicmusic
