find your own way

His back was to his brother, so Azure wouldn’t see the pleased, proud smile that touched the winged boys lips as he heard the stick catch. Azure had decided to trust him, the second time today. Maybe there was hope for them after all. Desperate to be right, and not let Azure down, he returned to sniffing the air, tilting his wings, doing everything he could to find and feel that faint touch of fresh air that had brought him this far.

With the light of Azure’s stick behind him, moving became easier. He didn’t have to shuffle along, afraid to trip, and the two of them could move more quickly, more freely. Everything was perfect, and then Azure had to go and ruin it. There was a nastiness in his bear-pawed brothers heart. Why did he only ever show it to Mort? His siblings would think him crazy, if he ever proclaimed the cruelty in their black-striped brother.

Mortis fell silent for a time, letting the soft crackling of the fire, and the sound of their footsteps be what echoed through the maze. “Nothing about me impresses you, does it.” it wasn’t a question, not really, just a quiet, sad, understanding.

At that same moment, they turned the last corner, and natural moonlight flooded in before them, announcing the exit for even his nose-dead brother to see.