05-04-2020, 04:45 AM
[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia;"]Selby looked up as Vigenere approached, shallowly conscious of his appearance but too deeply disturbed to do much about it. Yellow eyes squinted up at a similarly hued pelt, as if that would help him understand his words better. Find him. Find him. They would have to find him. A promise. “..You promise?” he asked weakly, perfectly aware that his question sounded childish. It didn’t matter. Winston mattered. He hadn’t struggled, wherever he went. The thought was of little comfort.
As Ivan came forward to press into him, Selby was momentarily stunned by the uncharacteristic display of physical affection. Then slowly, gently, he wrapped the opposite paw around his small shoulders and pulled him in closer. Overcome by emotion, he pressed his face into the top on his son’s head, breathing in the familiar, comforting scent. It wasn’t Winston’s, and it only did a little to soothe the hole ripping inside of Selby’s heart, but it was something.
And then Aurum. With the simple apology, again the floodgates opened and terrible thoughts ran through his mind. He spoke as if his child had already been found dead. What if he had eaten a toxic mushroom and was convulsing somewhere unseen, crying out for him? Or what if he had been lured away by someone with bad intentions? Or perhaps he had fallen off some ledge, and his broken body lay crumpled at the bottom? It was too much to bear, and against his own will, he began to sob into Ivan’s fur. Please, please don’t let him be dead...
As Ivan came forward to press into him, Selby was momentarily stunned by the uncharacteristic display of physical affection. Then slowly, gently, he wrapped the opposite paw around his small shoulders and pulled him in closer. Overcome by emotion, he pressed his face into the top on his son’s head, breathing in the familiar, comforting scent. It wasn’t Winston’s, and it only did a little to soothe the hole ripping inside of Selby’s heart, but it was something.
And then Aurum. With the simple apology, again the floodgates opened and terrible thoughts ran through his mind. He spoke as if his child had already been found dead. What if he had eaten a toxic mushroom and was convulsing somewhere unseen, crying out for him? Or what if he had been lured away by someone with bad intentions? Or perhaps he had fallen off some ledge, and his broken body lay crumpled at the bottom? It was too much to bear, and against his own will, he began to sob into Ivan’s fur. Please, please don’t let him be dead...