something's gone, something's missing | closed

[thaumatophage]

Who: The Baker Ranch Gang
What: Papa Bear is gone
When: Shortly after the dreamscape event
Where: Baker Ranch
Warning(s):I'm gonna slap an "abandonment issues/daddy issues" right here on top because that's a given.

She can't find him. Gods, she can't find Mr. Rambo - John - and she's looked everywhere, even run up to the Temple in the cold to see if he'd be at Serranai's altar instead of how he preferred to worship her. And...he's not there. Nobody's seen him...and it's not like him to disappear like that, not for this long, not without even leaving a note.

And she knows he's gone.

She runs to ask Mr. Salazar for a temporary (temporary, it's gotta be temporary!) leave from the farm so she can tend to the ranch in Rambo's absence, and it's here she can be found, doing the best she can and busier than a one-armed paper hanger and twice as harried. If she's working...if she's working, she doesn't have to think about how much this hurts.

Comments

[maximumcake]

No, Max answers before giving Edgar's hand a lick. He was really happy here, and it sounds like he wasn't very happy at home, so I think that's what he would want, too. He was starting to heal and feel like he belonged. Why would it be bad to wish for that for him again?

[hate_gettin_older]

"Just cause ... if he's here, means something bad happened to him back home. Doesn't it?"

He honestly isn't sure.

[maximumcake]

"Yes, but... bad things are still going to happen either way."

The way he looks at it, they're all here now because something bad happened to them, bad enough that they might be dead for good. That part isn't going to change.

"I don't think going back there can stop it. Not until we bring the barrier down. So... I don't know what it means but I don't think you're wrong for wanting him back. At least when he's here he has people who make him feel safe." They both know what a difference that can make.

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar nods, and leans his head against Max's.

"Thanks." Still very low, but it's lost most of the leaden tone of earlier. "For coming by and that."

pretend i didn't foget he was a wolf again

[maximumcake]

Max is heartened to hear the shift in his tone. You don't have to thank me for that, but you're welcome. I'm here for you. And... I think I needed this. I really like John. I want him back, too.

we saw nothing

[hate_gettin_older]

He digs his fingers into the fur behind Max's ears, somewhere between a scratch and a caress.

"Gotta make sure he knows, yeah? When he gets back. That there's people here who want him."

[maximumcake]

Max makes a happy sound in his throat and presses into Edgar's fingers. "I'll tell him as soon as he's back. You're right, he deserves to know. You can tell him too, but I'm sure he already knows how much you love him."

[hate_gettin_older]

"Yeah. He's like ... he's family."

A painful little smile. "Still don't know how the fuck that happened so fast."

[maximumcake]

Max's tail thumps the ground where it wags, "It doesn't surprise me at all. Some people just click right away." The way they had all those years ago, even if Max can't remember it directly.

"You two have a lot in common, must be why I love you both so much. There's a lot to love. And he's gonna be back. He'd never abandon you for good. He'd find a way."

[hate_gettin_older]

He believes it, somehow, when Max says it.

"Damn right he will. He won't give up."

good wrap?

[maximumcake]

No, he won't. So neither will we.