milliways_bar | (no subject)

Harold froze as soon as he heard Wolf. (Which also woke Snowball up) After a minute he started creaping up to the booth where Snow is. Now he's in her lap, head buried in her chest, all freaked out.

Thankfully he remembered to leave the truck where it was.

Snow reaches to the table and picks up her mug of tea with both hands, very carefully and at least somewhat unblatently giving Harold a protective embrace.

He can smell Harold. Harold is HERE SOMEWHERE.

"Yes, but do you know where he is right now?" Wolf asks a little insistently.

"I can honestly say I haven't seen him that much lately."

Which is true, between his extended departure and the regular bouts of invisibility.

Harold is not whimpering, SO VERY MUCH to his credit.
He is, however, shaking a little.

He is silently willing Snowball quiet.

Maybe.... Maybe he just thinks he smells Harold because Harold's scent is on Snow?

Can't fool a wolf's nose.

Perhaps a little desperately, "Is he doing okay?"

"Last I saw, yes. He has quite a few people looking out for him."

Wolf is a good friend, and she'd normally tell him where Harold is. But that would just make things much, much worse, as then Harold would be hiding from both of them. Again.

Wolf doesn't know what to do. At all.

"...When you see him next" -- what the hell. What kind of thing is that to say to the person watching your pup -- "please let us know? We've been trying to find him, and I'm starting to get worried, and so is Virginia."

Snow has done her share of flailing over this. Harold has about as many issues as . . . well, her, when she first arrived at Milliways.

"I'll make sure he knows."

And then . . . it's Harold's decision as to what should be done.

It is Snowball's opinion that Harold does not always know what's best for him. Thus she interveens sometimes.
As she decides to do now. She has been listening, after all. Not only to Harold's feelings, but more importantly what Wolf says.

So she stands up and nudges her nose against Wolf's leg.
Lightly.

He's trying hard not to scowl and then something TOUCHES HIM and Wolf whirls around, trying to find it. He looks down, and there's nothing there except Snow's legs, but those are on the other side of the table.

Sniiiiff.

He could almost swear that he smells dog.

Harold's eyes grow BIG and he wiggles out of Snow's arms and drop to the floor inbetween Snow's legs.

He reaches out to grab Snowball, but not before Snowball touches Wolf's leg again, this time a bit harder.

Then Harold has Snowball by the neck and pulls him back. Thankfully he does remember what Prue told him about people being able to hear him if he talked, but Snowball will be in BIG TROUBLE later.

Snow shifts her legs closer together, an innocent enough move to all appearances, but one that will allow her to hold the pair gently where they are. Given the circumstances, paranoia that Harold will try to run off again is understandable.

Her expression never wavers, and she tilts her head at Wolf.

"Is something wrong?"

There it is AGAIN!

Wolf looks down.

"I... I could have sworn something touched me."

Snowball's being difficult. She's wiggling and brushing Wolf's legs and Harold's TRYING SO HARD to hold her but she's SO MUCH BIGGER THAN HE IS.

Harold lets out a slight yelp.

"That's odd. It might have been one of the smaller patrons . . . I've seen talking cats and dogs and foxes around, and I suppose they might occasionally avoid notice . . ."

Snow will not reveal Harold's location until Harold is ready for his location to be revealed.

Wolf STAAAAAAAAAAAAARES underneath the table.

As in, crouches down and is alternately staring at the empty space underneath the table, and squinching up his eyes because Snowball is pushing against him and licking his face.

He raises a hand to try and feel the thing (it's a dog. It has to be a dog. It smells like a dog. And it feels like a dog.) licking his face, when he hears the yelp.

And he knows that yelp.

Wolf straightens up a little and looks over the tabletop at Snow.

Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!

Snowball lays down at Snow's feet, mission accompished. If a dog ever could look smug, this one does.

Harold crawls back up in the booth, and then into Snow's lap. He puts his head into her chest and whimpers.

Scared and upset would be an understatement. He would run, except that would mean leaving comfort. And comfort is good.

Snow hugs Harold tight, no longer caring how it looks, and silently swears.

"I'm sorry, Wolf. Harold made it clear that he'd rather avoid you for now. He hid from me for some time, just because he was afraid I'd turn him over to you. We need to get this sorted out, but right now my first priority is making sure Harold feels safe."

Wolf hears Harold whimper, and has to fight to keep himself from snatching up the toddler. He can smell how upset Harold is, curses inwardly at himself, because it's somehow his fault.

"I... It's because we've been gone so long, isn't it."

Harold clings tighter to Snow.
These are the issues he's been trying to avoid but have followed him everywhere..
The bad issues.
The ones that hurt.

Snow holds Harold firmly and assuringly, then begins to slowly rub his back in small circles. She's not going to let him go before he's ready.

She looks up at Wolf.

"That's at least some of it. He hasn't spoken about his reasons much, beyond how people keep leaving him. I'm not sure if he knows precisely why, himself."

"Oh Harold..."

He'd completely forgotten about Harold not being able to find his birth parents.

"I'm sorry, pup. We didn't mean to... Virginia was hurt very badly by a really bad guy, and she needed help."

Yeah, Snow probably tried to tell Harold all this. Harold either didn't listen or didn't understand so..this is all news to him.

There's concern in his voice.

"Yeah, she did. We almost lost the baby. That's why we had to go."