you don't have to like each other, but

He had never seen his mother look so stern, and she spoke of the argument between them as though she knew what had happened and found them both to be at blame. Panic shot through him, at the thought that his mother, too, did not care that Azure had tried to kill him. If Zee, of all the wolves in his life, did not believe he belonged…

His heart almost stopped, until Zee mentioned the two of them working together. Maybe she did care, maybe she just wanted the two of them to be friends, like Mortis wanted. Still, he wasn’t very happy about being manhandled, and a touch of panic still ran through him. His heart beated painfully quick inside of him as the boy who felt fear easily filled with adrenaline. He squeezed his eyes shut as his mother wrapped something around him, when he opened them, he would see how tightly he was bound to Azure. To the wolf who had tried to kill him.

His panic increased, and his eyes were wide with it. He should have told his mumma, he should have told Zee exactly what Mort had done. Did she already know? If she did, would she force him into such close proximity with him?

The thought of Azure being forced to drag around Mortis’s corpse, because he was dead, and Azure was stuck with him in this stupid harness, crossed his mind. He didn’t know if he should laugh or weep.

Mumma gave one last stern lecture, and then left them there alone. Mortis panted, he was breathing so heavily, and the second Zee was out of sight, he started to wiggle, the feeling of claustraohpe weighing down on him. One more fear to add to the bunch, Morits had a feeling he wasn’t going to like tight spaces ever again after this.

Azure, much calmer than his brother, would gesture rudely towards his injured paw, and ask if he had to drag him around. Mortis, through his fear had likely been pretty visible as it was, tried not to let it creep into his voice. “I can walk ” was all he said, and at least not he wasn’t trying to wriggle.