The scent of fermented berries clung to the silver of his fur. A sharp, inebriated smell that twisted and warped the usual fresh, woodsy aroma he typically gave off. No longer was it crisp and sharp, but rather warm and tacky in a way he couldn’t quite describe. He could smell the tang of difference, even as he sought solace in his Twin’s fur, comforted by the familiar petrichor smell that reminded him of home.

After his chat with Glitch, Amaris had found himself in need of another pawful…or two…of the warmth-inducing berries. The conversation had done wonders for his own need for distraction, but alas, the topic had become far too somber for his airy high to continue in the weightless fashion he wanted.

In fact, as soon as their voices had been silenced, Amaris had been bombarded with the concerning thoughts he held about both Lylith and Elli—watching with a pained gaze as their silhouettes passed through the throng of wolves who had come to celebrate a wedding.

Would they talk to each other?

Did they know each other?

Why in the Five hells were they both here?

If anything, it had been a single stroke of good luck that Elli had not seen him, and if she had, she had forgotten all about him. He certainly did not need Lylith to see Elli speak with him…or for the girls to interact at all.

However, this time the berry’s effect had not given him the heady high it had when he first tried them with Glitch. Instead, it left him anxious—tweaked—and on edge as his gaze, panicked and intoxicatingly alarmed, swung between the mass of passing faces within the crowd.

Suddenly, he no longer wished to be drunk—and he regretted, almost instantaneously, the double-fisted gulps he had taken.

And so, like any good Twin who found comfort in their sibling’s presence, he sought out Aelia with his tail tucked between his legs and his ears glued to either side of his skull. Surely, she would know what to do, he thought. He had not wished for anyone to see him…like this. Especially not his mothers.

Amaris did not know how much time had passed between finding Aelia and hearing their names cry out in the wind. He hoped, at the very least, for a few hours, for his world to grow less twisty and his head to ultimately clear. But while he was no longer seeing in doubles, he knew for certain that he was far from the soberness he needed to speak with his parents.

By the way his silver mother came stomping through the crowd, her eyes glassy in a way that communicated to him (drunkenly) her anger. Amaris quickly shuddered.

—Did she know?

Could Valeska smell him from here?

He had never been drunk before, and of course, somehow, his mother would figure it out—what would she say to him? Would she yell at him? Scream? Send him home?

Amaris blinked through his panicked thoughts.

He couldn’t let them know.

Not Valeska. Not Amaranth.

And so, embarrassingly, and with as much alarm as he could muster, in a red, glassy, inebriated stare, he flashed Aelia a look of ‘don’t let them know I’m drunk’ — a plea in his eyes.

And then he got into position.

Because surely when his parents said they needed to talk—something huge must be wrong—and if it was about him, he would make it crystal clear that he was, in fact, NOT drunk.

Amaris settled beside his sister, head lowered to his paws, and toes scratching at the uneven dirt beneath them—as if he were lost in thought —until he found a rather indistinguishable, boring old rock. LOOK, AELIA, he spoke out loudly. As if the simple act of having a louder voice would somehow convince his parents that he was totally, 100% sober.

A NORTHERN ROCK. IS. IT. NOT. BEAUTIFUL? He announced, almost performatively, as his eyes flashed to Aelia. Was it working? He tried to ask her through his glassy-eyed stare. Did their parents believe it?

Amaris would not dare look behind him.

Instead, he pushed the boring, black stone toward his Twin.

Perhaps he needed to try harder.

MAYBE, he hollered, WE SHOULD GIVE IT TO SOMEONE SPECIAL.

Surely, his mothers would leave them alone now—especially when it was clear that he and Aelia had other plans to attend to.