Month: February 2018

mythsandmonsters:

Quinn gave another noncommittal shrug. If Anya didn’t already know that the kid had serious issues making even small decisions without a little help, this just piled on the evidence, especially with how timid he was even compared to Bailey, and Quinn had neglected to mention that the only reason he’d actually gotten talking to Sable in the first place was because she had initiated the conversation with him, not the other way around.

“How about at least once a week you see Sable? Even if it’s just for ten minutes at a time so you can get used to at least one of your siblings. You need to start getting used to pack structure so the wolf part of you is healthy too,” she explained, offering the barest contact to get him started.

“If you can get comfortable with at least that, then we can work up to spending more time with her before adding in any one else, okay?”

mythsandmonsters:

“I think I scared Sable when she told me she saw Dad before… he came back,” Quinn answered with a vague shrug and shake of his head. He’d been assured plenty of times by Angelo that he’d explained to her why her older brother had reacted the way he did, but he still felt bad for it and had added that to the list of things he was hiding in his room to avoid.

“I haven’t really talked to any of the others. It’s too hard right now.”

“We could always asked Arcadia to bring her around for you to see on occasions when you feel up to it,” she offered, figuring it would be best to start things off slowly with him and his siblings. If he had already spoken to the younger girl before, she might be an easier starting point.

mythsandmonsters:

“Okay,” Quinn nodded, seeming to calm down a little, though he hadn’t apparently become aware of it yet.

Things would still be hard for him, he knew that. Before anything else, he had to overcome his fear surrounding seeing his father, but he was working on that the best he could for now, and hopefully, he could get around that before Jeff found the pups and brought them home so that Quinn could at least tackle everything one piece at a time.

“I mean, it’s better for him and the babies if there’s more people around to help too, right?”

She fussed over him for a moment when he seemed to calm, doing her best to keep from getting him too worked up again. The fact that she could help soothe even some of his concerns was worth more to her than she had words for at the moment. 

“Yeah, it is. Wolves need pack. It’s a comfort, it helps heal better. It gives us something to hold onto when we feel like we’re drowning. It’s a good sign that your siblings are started to bond that way, but you need pack too. Are there any of the others you feel okay being around? Even in short bursts?”

mythsandmonsters:

His head moved a fraction, but it was too slight of a gesture to be a definitive nod or refusal, more of a subtle recoil of a child retreating back into his shell.

“I’m the only one they didn’t take away from Dad. Maybe it will help him if he gets to make up for some of what was taken from him?” he mumbled, his tone betraying that he was diverting attention away from his own feelings by projecting them onto Isaac and his recovery.

Anya smiled sweetly at him when he spoke. She was smart enough to know where he was going, even if he couldn’t say it himself. 

“I think your dad would like that. I can set something up as a back up in terms of places to stay if it doesn’t work out with them being here full time though if that makes it easier for everyone.” 

mythsandmonsters:

“If you’re taking care of them, would that mean they’ll live here, or somewhere else?”

Now it was him who was skirting around what he actually wanted to say, but that was partly because he hadn’t cosciously made up his mind yet and was only trying to work through the storm of cunfusing feelings over the whole thing.

It was obvious he was just as afraid of this as he was everything else, but behind the fear in his eyes was something else. By acknowledging that the babies were almost certainly too young to remember anything they might have been through up to this point, it gave Quinn something hopeful to cling to out of all of it, and it was only understandable that, even though he’d still been just a child when the first litter was born, by the time the youngest litter came into the world, he had developed some sort of parental instinct and bonded to them because of it.

“I was offered an apartment close to here, but if you would rather they be here, I know that can easily be arranged too.”

She had caught onto the subtle hints in his scent and she was honestly a little relieved by them. It was something small and delicate, but it could help him heal better if he had something good to hold onto from everything that had happened to him. Plus, she knew Isaac would love to have his grandbabies close to him at all times as well.

mythsandmonsters:

“That’s not what I mean,” Quinn murmured, guessing she’d been told to avoid saying it outright, but Quinn still had concerns about what would happen if or when Jeff found the youngest since he already knew that arrangements were in place for the ones from the older litter that took the strain off him.

“I mean what happens after that? If Jeff finds the youngest ones, what then? They’re still just babies. They probably won’t even remember any of this like the others do.”

“I was asked if I would be willing to care for them. Your dad would have wanted to do it but he still has a long recovery and none of you kids need to take on more responsibility,” she answered, careful in how she worded it. 

It was obvious that he wanted to make sure they were safe and cared for and she had helped raise plenty of pups in the past. It would be no trouble for her to take care of them, especially since they were family.

“Your one sister would have taken them on as well but she already has her hands full. Unless there’s someone you would rather take care of them?” If he wanted to be involved even from the outside, she wouldn’t take that from him.

mythsandmonsters:

“And what about the others?”

The words were out before he could stop them, and Quinn crumbled at the realisation of what he’d said. He didn’t know if anyone had told her the truth about the youngest of the pups, but it was near impossible for Quinn to acknowledge them without it sending him into antoher breakdown.

“Jeff has some leads on where a couple of younger ones are and he’s work on getting them out. Zeke thinks he can get the rest of the information needed to get anyone else that’s still alive out,” she answered. 

Since Anya had gotten there, she had been getting caught up on the important things and had been told of pups younger even than the three they already with them. She knew what it meant and she also knew not to refer to them as Quinn’s pups. 

mythsandmonsters:

He stiffened at being hugged, but he didn’t pull away. As much as he knew, logically, that what was done to him was not deserved, the years of abuse had broken something fundamentally inside him that would not let him believe anything different, aside from reassurance by the one person who knew exactly what he’d endured, and it made the boy ache horribly that he’d have to wait to see if his father would ever recover enough to be able to that, and that, even with any recovery, Isaac would still be a reminder of it all and no doubt have lingering issues of his own on top of that.

She eased back when he went stiff and instead settled for trying to wipe away his tears. “Be with your family, pup. With me and your dad and your siblings, okay? We’re all in this together, for the good and the bad,” she promised, trying to find the right thing to say to keep him from breaking down further.

mythsandmonsters:

Quinn was sobbing uncontrollably now. Between the fear and the guilt, even though neither of those were things he had control over, he’d gotten himself worked up to the point where he was terrified of how much he’d fall apart if he even looked at his dad.

He couldn’t bring himself to even try to explain exactly what had happened, but the way the kid broke down was enough to show that it was horrific, by anyone’s standards, not just a an abused kid who’d witnessed the whole thing before he was even in his teens.

Despite her tone, her touch was gentle as she pulled the boy into her arms. If he wanted to pull away, Anya would let him, but for now, she just wanted to help him any way she could.

“Whatever was done to either of you is not your fault, Quinn. I’m sure your daddy will tell you the same,” she repeated, hoping that the words would get through to him even a little.