As the Crow Flies

A Father's Wager

Fundy brought a hand up to his forehead to block the sun from his eyes as he looked out onto the decrepit docks. At the end of the pier stood a lonely silhouette. It was Will. He told him to meet him here in a letter. It would be their first time speaking since he died.

Fundy felt nauseous. He wanted to talk to Will, he wanted his dad back, but he was afraid that Will was going to be the same he was back then, back during the revolution, during Manburg.

Fundy walked forward despite every muscle in his body screaming at him to run the other way. As he closed in and the floorboards creaked, Will turned around to face him. Fundy stopped in his tracks. Will smiled. He was older. His smile was weathered. A pair of crows feet had developed around his eyes and some of his hair had turned white.

"Fundy." He sighed. Fundy felt his ears flatten and his tail cling to his left leg. Chills ran down his spine at the sound of his father's voice. Anger burned in his belly at his smile.

"Hi Will." He responded. Will's smile faltered which made Fundy feel a bit better. An awkward silence hung over them before Will spoke again.

"I don't know if you've heard, but I've kind of been going around, apologizing for all of the terrible things I've done." He began. Fundy's ears perked up a bit, but he forced them back down to try to hide his interest. "I'm sorry Fundy. For everything." Will said quietly. Fundy tried to keep the chuckle from coming out, but he couldn't do it.

"You're sorry?" He asked through a burning smile. Will nodded silently. "Is that supposed to make me feel better or something?" Fundy shrugged. He grinned at Will's confused expression.

"Fundy, I didn't mean to hurt you-"

"But you did." Fundy interrupted and Will fell silent. Fundy looked at the ground and took a breath before bringing his gaze back up to Will's.

"It was all around me Will, it's in me. L'Manburg was just a sick joke to you and you tricked us all into fighting for it. Blood was spilt, people died, I lost a life. You told me that being born in the walls of that goddamn country made me special, it made me your son, and then you what? You destroyed it, you left me, you ruined my life." Fundy took a moment to pause and size his father up. "And now here you stand. And none of it meant anything. And all the pain was for nothing. I'm just a silly little fox, isn't that right Will? Your little champion, yeah? No. I don't have to be a part of this. I don't want to be a part of this."

"But you're my son. You don't really have a choice here. You said it yourself, it's in you Fundy. It's all around you. No matter where you go, or how far you run, you can't outrun your family. It's one of the first things I taught you."

"Will you're not listening to me."

"No, you're not listening to me. Stop calling me Will. I am your father, you should treat me like it." Fundy took a step back and saw the eagar look in his father's eyes fade to concern. Maybe he was finally realizing that he'd taken it too far. Maybe Fundy was finally able to show him where he went wrong. Fundy stared his father down, growing confident in his argument.

"I used to love you. And then you broke my heart." He said without any waver in his voice. Fundy scoffed as Will locked his jaw. "How about this, how about I start calling you "dad" when you start acting like one? Sound good, Will?"

Will blinked, then slowly turned around to look back at the sea. The sun was already heading down towards the horizon line, causing the water to reflect it's warm orange glow. He watched as Will dug through his pocket and pulled out what looked like a green coin.

"You're right Fundy. I wasn't the best father. But I had a lot of time to think in Limbo. Thirteen years to be exact." Wilbur tossed the coin in the air and caught it. "I've changed. I've grown. I know what it means to be a father now. The only question is," he paused and spun around so that he was facing Fundy once again. "are you willing to give me that second chance?" Fundy didn't know how to respond. He wasn't expecting the question. His reaction must've given something away because Will smiled and tossed the coin to Fundy. He caught it in cupped hands. He realized that it wasn't a coin, but a dark green poker chip with a white smiley face printed on one side and "Las Nevadas" printed on the other.

Will strode forward and placed his hand on Fundy's shoulder as he walked past.

"Go ahead and sleep on it." He said with a pat. And just like that, he walked off, leaving Fundy alone at the edge of the dock with the falling sun and the bargaining chip.