i. Total Eclipse . Of the Heart
Rise loved his children dearly. It was, he would always proudly proclaim, a pleasure and a privilege to bring up his foals and have them remain with him and Grey in the shop. They were one of the big three joys of his life (his lifemate and the shop being the other two), he would say. He was an eternally patient father. Nothing could faze him. Or so he thought.
He couldn't help feeling guilty about this. Sometimes he worried that he spoilt his children bad, as some warned him he would, especially in regards to My Very Best. That boy was good and capable...when he wanted to be. He taunted his siblings and whined about many, many things...particularly about his father's preferences in regards to his children. These remarks cut him terribly, since he was convinced of his love for all of them.
And yet sometimes he lay awake, wondering if he did indeed favour the girls of their clutch. He never dared to attempt answering that question, but he did think hard about Best. One day, Rise was fed up with his son's whining - and on his own, the patriarch of Rise & Co. herded back a couple of fine animals, specimens he’d hoofpicked from the wide reaches of the swamp. He entered the shop with a brilliant, flaming crane and an elegant dark turtle, leading them near the back of the shop to where the problem son was critically tasting a salted bird.
"Best," he addressed, and the head slowly turned upwards. To his fatherly amusement, the eyes widened.
"Look, son, you're always saying I favour the girls -"