Fur-al High

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shinzuu sighed as he rinsed off and then jumped into the tub. He laid his head back and closed his eyes. The first thing that popped into his mind's eye was seeing Veronica crying in the dark and empty void. Her image then shrank as 2 more figures, in the same position crying, appeared. There, he found his younger self and Reno, all huddled together, crying the same way, mourning the same thing. They were one in the same, but just different people. Shinzuu snapped awake at that and sighed, "I guess...."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Veronica didn't move from her spot curled up against the door until about half an hour passed. Finally, she slowly got up as tears continued to run down her face and opened the door, entering the house. She didn't bother to close the door behind her and moved through the house slowly, looking at pictures hanging on the wall and flashing back to those times for a few seconds each time. She didn't want to let anything in the house go. She didn't want any of it to be sold off to random people who didn't know what any of it meant. It would be better, she thought, if the house stayed the way it was as a sort of crypt and no one touched anything except her. She went up to her room and grabbed a big teddy bear her parents had got her for her last birthday then roamed back downstairs and made her way to her parents' room. She crawled on the bed and curled up in a ball in the middle of the bed like a child who went to sleep with their parents after having a nightmare. Closing her eyes, she hugged the bear tight as she continued to cry. If nobody came to find her, she wouldn't mind. She didn't want to ever leave the house.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

After a while of waiting, her father came and picked her up like he said he would. Mordecai seemed concerned that his daughter was upset, but why wouldn't she be after getting the news she got today. "So what are you in the mood for, Marlowe?" Mordecai smirked uneasily. He wanted to cheer her up. He had already found just about every food place nearby so that he could go where she wanted to. "I'm up for anything you are!"

Marlowe smirked a bit. "How about some waffles?" She tucked her hands into her pockets, getting comfortable in the car.

"Sounds good to me," he said while putting the car in gear and pulling off from the park. They arrived at a breakfast joint not too far from the park. When they stepped inside, Mordecai grabbed a booth. He knew that Marlowe preferred booths over tables. When the waitress came up to get their order, Mordecai looked at his daughter. "I'm going to assume you want two blueberry waffles and a chocolate milk?"

"You know it," she smiled.

Marlowe bowed his head and smiled back, "We'll take that. And for me a ham and cheese omelet with coffee, straight black." The waitress busily scribbled down his order and rushed off. Mordecai tucked away the menus behind the napkin dispenser. He looked back to Marlowe. "I really am sorry. Right now I have to figure out how to get in touch with Adali... I told her I'd call her when we got here and settled.." He looked back down at the table in silence.

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno continued to just lay there on the bed. He managed to take his mind off Schadenfreude and think about Veronica. It made him feel bad that he upset her, this time something was his fault. Another knock came at his door and someone walked in. He didn't bother looking. "Very becoming of you, Mr. O' Malley." said Mr. Avery walking in and closing the door behind him. "Pogue muh ho-in'.(Kiss my arse.)" "Classy. I know you are feeling down, and I am almost certain you are blaming yourself." "Why wouldn't I? It's my fault. Now piss off and stop calling me that. You know it annoys me." "I am just being polite. Anyway, I just came by see how-" "I'm peachy. Go raibh maith agat.(Thanks)" "Don't mention it. I will be leaving now. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." With that said Mr. Avery went to the door. Before closing it all the way he stopped. "By the way, you are out of school for awhile. I have already taken upon myself to talk to Miss Yass and excused you." After that he closed it and left. Normally Reno would have been angry for someone doing something like that, but he didn't care at the moment.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shinzuu sighed as time passed, "I guess I have to at LEAST say something to her." He changed into some normal clothes and walked out the door, taking his key with him. When Shinzuu got to the hotel, he asked the receptionist, Mrs. Avery at the time, which room was Reno's and headed over to the room, noticing the door open. He knocked as he peered in, "Hey, Reno. Is Veronica here?"

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Veronica kept crying. There was nothing else she could do. She didn't feel like she could move from the spot if she tried, which she wasn't about to. She held the bear as tight as she could as she laid there in the middle of her parents' bed. This was the closest she was ever going to be to her live parents. The next time she saw them they would be cold and lifeless in wooden boxes and put in the ground to rot. It wasn't a pretty picture and the more she thought about the more her heart broke. She didn't want to see them like that, she just wanted them to come back. She wanted to believe that it was just a nightmare but she knew it wasn't true. So she cried and cried to the point where the stress was bringing on a headache and she might just throw up if got any more worked up. That was horrible and upset she was.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

Marlowe chewed her blueberry waffle in silence, while her father cut into his omelet. "Couldn't you call one of the funeral homes where she's located? She told you what town she's in, didn't she? Or keep an eye on the news?" she said between bites. Her father nodded, taking a long swig off of his coffee. "I'm sure if you gave a name or asked about Schad's mom that something could come of it, right?"

"I suppose I could try, but I don't know if it'll work or not." He stroked his chin and yawned. Their dinner was short. The only conversation they had was about methods of trying to figure out where Schadenfreude or her mother, and when they finished, they got in the car and headed back to their new home.

Marlowe plopped on her bed when she got back, glad she didn't have to change and again attempted to sleep.

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno recognized the Shinzuu's voice instantly, though he didn't even budge. "Come here to hit me again? Maybe I do know where she is. You would probably be the last person I'd tell right now." His voice didn't seem angry, rather depressed. He continued to lay there, not really caring about Shinzuu. Mostly because he didn't feel like moving from that spot until Schadenfreude's funeral. Even then he wasn't really upset with Shinzuu, he probably would act like it to push him away further. He didn't want any friends. Or to care about anyone, to him they would all just die.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shinzuu was extremely irritated with Reno's attitude. He himself had been like that before, but not to that extent. Shinzuu walked right up to Reno and grabbed him by the collar and picked him up to his face level. "Listen you little backstabbing rodent, I am really restraining my self, but I'm not putting up with your bullshit just because you think you're the center of pity. Unlike you, Veronica's more prone to hurt herself. If you don't tell me where she is, I damn well will slug your (censored) teeth off just to make you think straight! Now tell me where she is!"

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Veronica eventuallly stopped crying and rolled onto her back on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling for about ten minutes before she finally got off the bed, carrying the bear with her. Making her way to the kitchen, she set the bear on the counter and started digging through the fridge. After a minute or two, she found a bottle of beer in the back. She popped the top off of it and took a drink. It didn't taste pleasant but she swallowed it just the same then let out an "ack" of disgust and dumped the rest of it down the drain. She slammed the fridge shut and grabbed the bear, heading upstairs. She went to her room and sat down in the window, holding the bear and blankly looking at the road below. She reached behind her to the stand next to the window without looking and grabbed a lighter that she used to light candles. As she sat there, she started flipping the lighter open and closed, open and closed.

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno didn't seem to care that he was pulled up by his collar. That is until Shinzuu called him a backstabber. "Backstabber?! You hit me for no sodden reason and you got the gall ta call ME the backstabber?!" he snapped back. With a sudden burst of rage fueled strength he stood up, broke from Shinzuu's grip and shoved him backwards into the table behind him. "Ya damned hypocrite, get the hell out o' me sight! Callin' me a backstabber...Got some nerve you do. I even had a wee ounce o' respect left for ya too...I don't even..." Reno was angry as well as confused, he didn't know what to think of the situation.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shinzuu rushed up and punched Reno square in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the kid. "Don't act all innocent! You've been pretending to be my friend to get close to Veronica! I saw you two together in that abandoned house! An ounce of respect!? My ass! I came here, not strangling your ass out of respect for the dead! But apparently you're too wallowed up in your own little pity party! (censored) you!" Shinzuu left without another word, slamming the door behind him. Only one place left that I can think of, then... He then ran full sprint down the street and around corners, heading towards what was once his own home many years ago.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Veronica didn't move from her place in the window. Cars passed by on the street below as people went on with their lives. Her world had stopped turning this morning but everyone else's just kept on turning. It didn't seem like the world would ever start moving again for her with her parents being a part of it. As she sat there in her unmoving world, she continued to flip the lighter open and closed in her hand. If she stopped paying attention, it would be quite possible for her to drop the lighter and set the house on fire. She didn't think it mattered much if she did drop the lighter, at least she and all the things she didn't want others to buy or throw out would leave this world together and she would be with her parents. She wouldn't drop it on purpose though so she just kept flipping the lighter open and closed as she watched the street below her.

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno didn't expect a hit to the gut, nor did he not expect it. But by the time he got off the floor Shinzuu was gone. "...To get to Veronica? What?" He froze in place as he put all the pieces together; then it hit him. He chuckled lightly. "Idiot...I bet I know where they went..." He got his balance before heading out the door, he didn't even bother with the rest of his clothing. He was barefoot running down the street in black pants and an unbuttoned long sleeve white shirt. He was heading to his house, since it was across the street from Veronica's place. He figured her parents died she'd want to head there, after all he did. And Shinzuu would likely be there too so he could try to explain it to him what really happened. He was able to not think about Schadenfreude for the first time then as he ran to his house.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shinzuu made it back to the old streets of his childhood, memorizing every turn and stone. His right eye picked up a flicker of light flashing on and off from the 2nd floor window in his old home. I knew it, that has to be her. Shinzuu ran up to the door and opened it. His legs did all the running from memory and headed for what was once his own room that overlooked the front of the house, and found Veronica standing there at the window. "So you were here..."