→ It hadn't been all that long, but Haben was starting to get worried. Robin was gone, and maybe it made sense after their last encounter, but for more than a day and Haben couldn't hold his anxiety in any longer. "Hunter?" Haben knew full well how good Hunter took care of his pack and he was certain to know something that Haben didn't. He knocked on the alpha's office door, afraid to know the answer, but needing to know if Robin had said something to Hunter about leaving for good.

→ Sitting in his office, Hunter was rubbing his temples and he was trying like hell to focus on where Robin was. When he heard the boy's voice from the door he lifted his head and looked up and over at him. "Come inside." he knew what this was about, knew what was going on in Haben's head because it was the same thing going on in his own.

→ He went inside, shutting the door behind him. Haben's wide brown eyes were filled with concern and he looked quite lost. At first, he couldn't quite bring himself to say anything because uttering words outloud made it all the more real. "Hunter--" he began, glancing down at his feet. "Have you seen Robin at all?"

→ "No, Haben." Hunter said softly as he looked up at the lion. It was easy to read what he was feeling on his face because the boy couldn't hide his emotions. They wrenched at Hunter's insides and he felt like this was happening all over again, like it had happened with Jack. "There is something pulling at me but I can't put my finger on it."

→ Haben wished it was pulling on him too, then maybe he could help. But Haben wasn't connected like Hunter was, and that made him feel so useless right now. "It's because I was hanging around with Jeremiah." He blurted, putting his face in his hands. "Robin must have left." Haben was quick to blame himself.

→ "I'm sure that isn't the reason why." Hunter said to him, shaking his head. "Do you think that you could go and find Wendell for me?" He wanted to give the boy something to do to take his mind off of Robin while he himself figured out what to do. Wendell he needed to talk to and then the wolf could keep him occupied.

→ Haben felt just a little bit better with Hunter's reassurance, and the sensation was weird because he'd always been so independent. He never thought he'd allow himself to feel safe under someone else's watch. Turning to oblige Hunter's request, Haben trucked down the stairs to listen for sounds of Wendell which often included his voice mumbling to himself. Finding him in a comfy brown chair in one of the lounging rooms, Haben brought him quickly back to Hunter.

→ When Wendell was there Hunter was already up, getting his keys from his desk drawer. He shooed Haben out of the room for a moment and once the door was closed he wrapped his arms around Wendell and drew him in close so he could whisper into his ear. "Something is wrong. I'm going to find Robin."

→ Wendell's body tightened with the whisper and the knowledge that something was going on. The jingle of keys made his insides ache because the wolf in him knew what that sound meant Hunter was going away. Not knowing what to say, Wendell gave a short nod, then finally asked. "Are you taking anyone with you?" Because he may have faith in Hunter's strength, but he liked the odds better if someone was with him.

→ "I was going to ask Sullivan to go with me." Because he knew that if Robin panicked, the wolf would be able to keep him calm for the ride back to the house. "Can you please keep Haben busy. Make dinner with him, tell him about your cases or about that show we were watching on tv last night about the gestation period of larvae in forensics. Anything, just distract him."

→ Hunter was placing a great deal of faith in Wendell's power of distraction. Granted, Wendell was up to the challenge. He nodded and turned to leave, finding Haben standing off to the side of the door with his arms wrapped around his waist. "What's going on?" He asked immediately before Wendell put a hand to his back. "We're making dinner is what's going on."

→ When Haben was escorted out towards the kitchen, Hunter took the stairs two at a time up to the bedrooms and he knocked on Sullivan's door. He wasn't sure if the wolf would haven oticed that Robin was gone or not, or if he'd feel the sense of distress in the house.

→ Sullivan had a strong sense of pack and he was one of the most in touch with his wolf. Still, he'd been trying to turn that off lately, as if it was even possible. The past few nights he'd tossed and turned, had horrible dreams, but he chalked them up to the fact that Austin had put them on hold, and Robin was--well he didn't know where Robin was, but he figured the boy just didn't want to see him. Opening the door, Sullivan had a serious expression on his face. "What's the matter?"

→ "I need for you to put your shoes on and come downstairs with me and be quiet. I'll explain to you what is giong on in the car." But he didn't want Haben to hear about it and freak out because Hunter had chosen to take Sullivan instead of him. "I'll be downstairs."

→ Obeying, Sullivan grabbed his shoes and silently descended the stairs. For one his size, he was very much a predator, quiet when he needed to be. Glancing only briefly into the kitchen as he passed it on the way to the front door, Sullivan caught sight of Haben and Wendell cooking. The smell of tension was on both of them though and Sullivan squirmed just a bit as he made it out onto the porch.

→ Hunter already had the car parked and ready and when Sullivan slid into the passenger seat he pulled out of the drive. "Put your seatbelt on." he said. Because Robin had been sedated he hadn't been able to track him but now that the boy was awake he had a slight hook on him. But when Robin had started to experience great distress he had managed to figure out where he needed to be and that was when he knew it was time to go. Robin was quiet again now but Hunter already knew where to find him. "We are going to go get Robin."

→ Wanting desperately to pretend that this was just one of Robin's running away acts, Sullivan nodded firmly. "Okay." He said simply, even though he could start to feel Robin's lingering sense of distress radiating out of Hunter with the memory. He swallowed hard, fastening his seatbelt. After awhile, he couldn't stand not knowing anymore. "Where is he? Is he all right?" Sullivan knew the answer to the last question.

→ "He's somewhere outside of Seattle and no, he's not all right." Hunter wasn't going to lie to Sullivan but he was going to put pressure on the wolf. "When we get to him I need you to stay calm. Because he's going to be scared and he's going to be upset and he is going to need you. So you have to keep your wits about you, do you understand me?"

→ There was a moment between the realization that Robin was hurt and Hunter's words where Sullivan panicked. He could feel his heart race and his anger rise to near shapeshifting proportions. But as soon as Hunter demanded his wits, Sullivan could do nothing but give them, and he was thankful for the order because it was a thread of sanity for him to hold on to. "Yes, I understand."

→ Hunter was quiet for a while then, just driving at the edge of recklessness and just plain speeding. There would be no cop that would stop them at this speed but they were still moving along fairly quickly. "Take a few breaths.' he told Sullivan when they started to get close. "If you lose it, things could go south very quickly. I need your help, Sullivan." He was giving him a lot of responsibility.

→ Everything was registering, even though Sullivan was stone still, his eyes pinned to the road as if expecting to see Robin out there. Part of him wanted to ask exactly what Hunter knew, but he refrained because at the moment, he couldn't handle knowing. All he knew was what he felt, and there was an underline of fear between them both. Breathing, Sullivan put his palms against his knees, muscles coiling up, ready for some kind of action.

→ When they got to theh ouse he parked out front and he turned to face Sullivan. "Don't kill anyone until I tell you to, understand?" Because if it came to that he would not stop Sullivan from ripping the head off one of the people that had hurt Robin, or all of them.

→ Kill. Sullivan tensed, but accepted the fact that if that's what needed to be done, it needed to be done. He didn't think he'd have a hard time with it if Robin's safety was involved. He wanted to get out, get going, get to Robin, but he followed Hunter's lead. Inside, Oliver was finishing up some kitchen cleaning when he looked up to see the car parked outside. "Harris?" He called out with some caution, wanting to know where the other boy was. Something was wrong.

→ Getting out of the car, Hunter came around the front of it and started towards the house, fully expecting Sullivan to follow him up to the house. Harris was laying on the couch, his iPod on his chest and his headphones in his ears.

→ When Harris didn't answer, and the two men started toward the house, Oliver turned off the water and calmly went to look for the other. There was fear in his step, the predator in him recognizing quickly the movements of something stronger. If Oliver could pick out 'victim,' he could easily pick out the profound opposite and that's what both of the men approaching his house were. "Harris?" The word caught in his throat.

→ Harris didn't hear him right away but when he finally did he pulled his headphones off and sat up. "Oliver? What's going on?" he could hear a bit of distress on his lover's voice and he wasn't sure what was happening. When Hunter got to the door he didn't knock, he just broke the door knob off and pushed the door open.

→ Hearing the sound of the door giving way, Oliver seized Harris. "We have to go." There was a back door, and he hurried them toward it. His instincts told him to get away; Robin hadn't been lying when he said that someone would come for him. All Oliver could think about now was leaving, finding Harris a safe place to hide. Sullivan followed Hunter inside and was nearly blown back by the stench of death that lingered in this place.

→ The smell made Hunter want to vomit and he took a hesitant step before regaining his stride. He could hear the other two in the back room and he went for it, getting to the room as Harris and Oliver got to the back door. "Stop." he demanded, and Harris whirled around to look at them. But then he heard a whine, barely audible, from the basement and he turned his head. Robin was his first priority, not the two that were leaving. He could find them later.

→ Oliver almost laughed at the fact he didn't keep guns in the house. One would have been handy now, or at least he thought it would. When the man turned his attention from them, Oliver grabbed Harris and tugged him out the door. His entire world was falling apart and he wasn't going to lose the best thing he had to gawking. Sullivan nearly lunged as the two were leaving, wanting to pay them back, but Hunter's words echoed in his head and he turned to follow the alpha even if he was terrified of what he would find.

→ Breaking the door to the basement, the smell of death and blood and come and every bodily fluid he could even imagine hit him in the face and Hunter jerked back, running into Sullivan. He turned quickly and vomited, having to put his hand against the wall to keep from tipping over. But he recovered quickly and wipedh is hand across his mouth so that he could go downstairs.

→ Sullivan had slapped a hand over his nose and mouth feeling his lunch churning unpleasantly in his stomach. He wobbled a bit, refusing to believe that Robin could be down there amongst that horrible smell. Clenching desperately to the railing, Sullivan made his way down. "Robin?" He couldn't help himself, he had to call his name out.

→ Hunter got to the basement first and he looked around. The door at the back was where he went first and he saw the padlock on it. Instaed of finding something to wrench it off with he just wrapped his hand around it and jerked twice and it came off the door. He hadn't broken the lock but the part of the door it was attached to and then he pulled hte door open. The inside of the room was a mess. It smelled like wolf, like death even stronger than the other room. Robin was curled up in the corner, his knees drawn up to his chest and his head down against them. His hands were on the floor, arms limp at his sides because he couldn't even hold them up anymore. He was still a bloody mess from before, and he smelled like Harris' come and Oliver's too. There were claw marks all over the back of the door and along the walls and Robin's fingers were still torn up even though he had shifted the day before. The boy couldnt' even lift his head to look at Sullivan and Hunter when they got to the room.

→ Sullivan could barely bring himself to look at the boy. He had to swallow down a howl that threatened to rip through him and instead, he let loose a small whimper at the sight. But that was his only show of weakness, managing to keep himself under control. He rushed to kneel next to Robin and put a hand on his shoulder.

→ When he felt the hand on his shoulder, Robin tilted his head to the side but he couldn't pick it up off of his knees. His mouth was open and his lip was split from where Harris had ripped the lip ring out. At the sight of Sullivan he started shaking, his whole body convulsing. "Sull...' it was all he managed to get out before he closed his eyes and started to cry. Hunter shrugged off his jacket and came to wrap it around Robin. There was no way he was going to wrap him up in anything that came from this room.

→ His heart nearly broke from the sounds Robin was making. The many times that he had hurt Robin, the result had been beautiful. Robin could bruise like no other and his wounds were always perfect. But not like this--this was violence beyond even Sullivan's most animalistic nature. Once Hunter wrapped the coat around him, Sullivan picked him up, carrying him easily. "What are we going to do?" He didn't even know if Robin could make it home; he could sense the weakness lingering in his limbs.

→ For once Hunter didn't know. He didn't know what to do and this was something that was breaking his heart. There were choices to be made. Sit with Robin until he went, just holding him until he died so that he didn't die alone. Or try to get him home and lose him in the car on the way there. There was a small chance that they could get him home and do something for him once they got there but he didn't know what. "We need to try and get him to eat something."

→ Hunter's uncertainty was not strictly apparent, but something snapped at the edges of his movements and it terrified Sullivan. "Something to eat." He didn't want to know what they kept in the fridge upstairs. "Can't we just get him out of here? Somewhere? A hospital?" Sullivan knew full well they couldn't go to a hospital, but he was grasping at straws.

→ "Aubrey's." The fox that was sleeping with the yougnest Lawson boy. He lived here, near here. "We can take him to Aubrey's. Let's get him to the car." He could call Aubrey on the way and he knew that the mine would have no choice but to oblige them and to make sure that his house was ready for the arrival of Robin.

→ Sullivan didn't know who Aubrey was, but he was intent on fixing this. Carrying him up the stairs, he didn't hesitate a moment to take him outside and get him in the car. He laid Robin in the backseat, sitting there with him. Robin was a complete mess and he had the horrible feeling that he was going to watch him die.

→ Hunter got into the car and he started it up. He wasn't fucking around as he pulled away from the house and started towards Aubrey's. While he drove he got the other man on the phone and he started lisiting everything they would need for when Robin got there. Robin just laid quietly, looking up at Sullivan while they rode. Every time they hit a bump he whimpered but other than that he was silent.

→ The faces of the other two people in the house were burned into Sullivan's memory. They'd looked innocent enough, but nothing could be innocent in a house like that. He brushed his hand across Robin's forehead, keeping calm as they drove. When they finally arrived, Sullivan didn't waste time asking who Aubrey was, or if he knew what to do. Sullivan trusted Hunter.

→ Aubrey was waiting for them and when they got there he helped them get Robin upstairs into his loft. He'd stripped all the blankets down off of his bed except his sheet and he had gotten a bowl of warm water and a washcloth to put next to the bed. While he waited he started cooking for the boy, just getting him something ready to eat. He'd made steak but he wasn't sure if the boy woudl be able to eat it so he had always tried for some chicken soup, something he could drink.

→ Sullivan felt himself unravelling, and all he could do was focus on Robin. "It's okay." He said softly, kneeling next to the bed and putting his hands on Robin because they both needed the touch. "It's okay." Was all he could say, and he hated lying because nothing was okay.

→ Being with someone he loved before he died was what was important to him, so if he went now then he wasn't really all that worried about it. What he was worried about was that no one would tell Haben that he loved him and that he was sorry for him. Mostly because he couldn't even find the words to say it to Sullivan. "Sull." he got out again, but nothing more than that.

→ What were they doing for him? Sullivan looked around, finding Aubrey and Hunter before focusing back on Robin. Laying his head down on the boy's chest he strained to hear a heartbeat, maybe thinking he could will it stronger.

→ When Sullivan did that he wined and he tried to lift his hand up to touch Sully but he couldn't. So he just whined again. Hunter came into the room then, carrying the soup because he figured if they could get that into Robin first then they could get him to a point where he could handle eating meat.

→ Lifting his attention when Hunter came into the room, he could smell the chicken broth and felt a small amount of relief because maybe that would at least soothe Robin. He wanted to be the one who fed Robin and he stood up to get the bowl from Hunter. Positioning himself back on the bed, he maneuvered Robin's head up so that he could swallow without choking and started to spoon the broth into his mouth, trying hard not to touch his bottom lip.

→ Hunter sat down on the edge of the bed and he took a hold of Robin's hand, lacing his fingers in gently with the boy's. His other hand came up to gently brush his hair back out of his eyes. "It's okay, Robin. We've got you now. I'm sorry it took so long."

→ Sullivan should have kept better tabs on him. Robin was still a vulnerable member of their pack, and maybe he would never be able to completely look out for himself. If Robin survived, he planned to never let the boy out of his sight again. Ever. He spoon fed him slowly, wishing it would work some sort of instant magic.

→ This was going to be a waiting game. Only time would tell as to whether or not the boy was going to be all right. Hunter kept running his fingers through Robin's hair and he just stayed close. When the soup was gone, Robin just closed his eyes and laid his head back, too tired to do anything else or try and eat anything else. He just wanted to sleep.

→ Setting himself up to sleep next to Robin, or at least stay next to him, Sullivan rested his head on the pillow next to him. "Tell me he's going to be okay." At that point, he just wanted to hear it from Hunter, even if it was a lie.

→ "He'll be okay." Because at this point, he thought, even if Robin died, he was at least with his pack and that was better than dying alone in a basement that smelled like death and blood. Robin fell asleep, his head tilted to the side a little bit so that his face was turned towards Sullivan. "I'm going to clean him up while he sleeps."

→ Sullivan would help where needed to lift or move Robin, but for now, he stayed right where he was. Shutting his eyes he pictured Austin, wishing him there because where Hunter couldn't reach inside of his brain, Austin had full access and he could use the dose of calm. Then again he wasn't sure Austin would be able to offer that to him in this situation. Pushing that from his mind, he watched Hunter clean Robin.

→ Hunter was careful with Robin as he cleaned him up, being as gentle as he could with the young wolf. "I remember when Robin was a baby." he told Sullivan. "You and Austin were toddlers and you didn't get that you had to be careful with him because he was smaller than you and more fragile. I wouldn't let either of you hold him because the first time that I did Austin dropped him."

→ Sullivan didn't want to chuckle at that, but he did because he could imagine them as small things, Robin even smaller. But the idea of Robin being tiny just made him more vulnerable and Sullivan started to feel even worse for not watching him. "I always played with him like he wouldn't break." Leave it to someone else to break him.

→ "He survived sixteen years of living with you and Austin, he can make it through this." Hunter was absolutely convinced that he could, he just hoped that Robin knew he was pulling for him that hard. "He's a tough kid." He just hoped to god that the kid was tough enough to make it. And if he was then Hunter was never letting anyone off of wolf haven property again.

→ Maybe this was what Sullivan had been preparing Robin for. Through all of his years of merciless torment, Sullivan had always done so with the idea that it would make the victim stronger. That's what his father had done to him and it was what he'd passed on to some of the other wolves. "Why didn't you take Haben?" Sullivan finally asked.

→ "Because when we got there Haben would have fallen apart. He talks a lot of talk but he isn't as strong as you. He is a care giver and a lover and you are a protector." He looked up at Sullivan. "I'm very proud of the way you handled yourself today, that wasn't easy and the next couple of days wont be either. Robin needs someone who can be there and be strong for him right now."

→ Sullivan could understand that, but he wondered if Haben would when they got home. Hunter's words made him feel a ridiculous amount of pride and it was almost enough to restore his hope fully that Robin would make a recovery. "Are we going to hunt them down?" The people who did this, he meant.

→ "Yes." Hunter said. "But first I want to focus on Robin and getting him better." Once he had gotten him cleaned up he took the clothing that Aubrey had given him to dress him. Just a pair of boxers and a t-shirt, he had to have Sullivan help hold him up so they could dress him. Then he set to work carefully cleaning his bottom lip since it looked painful.

→ Sullivan would miss that lip ring. He'd needed to sit up to help Hunter dress Robin, so he stayed sitting up and just stared at the cleaning process. He was happy the boy was asleep through it because he couldn't imagine how much it hurt.

→ "It'll heal." Hunter said hopefully. "I doubt he'll ever went that ring back." Which was too bad, he'd always liked it. He thought that it made Robin just a little bit different and he'd liked that. But now he didn't care whether or not he ever put the damn ring back in, just as long as the wolf made it through.

→ He remembered the mean things he'd said about it, even though he'd loved it. But he supposed that was the least of their worries at this point. Reaching out for Robin's hand, he pulled it into his lap and gently played with Robin's fingers.

→ "Why don't you get comfortable.' Hunter told him. "I am going to call Wendell and talk to Aubrey. I want them to know we are giong to be here over night .Maybe even a few days if we have to be."

→ Sullivan nodded. He'd stay by Robin's side but his shirt had the boy's blood on it. He'd use the bathroom, leaving the door open to wash up a little. Returning to the bed, much cleaner now, he settled on it.

→ Robin was out cold for most of the night but around dawn he started to wake back up. His eyes opened first, shifting slowly around to take in his surroundings because he was worried that he was going to wake up another morning in that room. But he wasn't. He was somewhere else. Somewhere soft and he could smell Sullivan. That made him think almost that he had died and this was just his afterlife. Turning his head slightly he blinked at the sleeping wolf and then he sighed, his breath making his bottom lip burn.

→ Normally, Sullivan was an incredibly heavy sleeper. Disaster had visited upon the main house and Sullivan had slept through it. But under the circumstances, he was easily woken up by the slight movement. When he opened his eyes and saw that Robin's blue ones were looking back at him, he was almost too afraid to move just because he was afraid this was a dream and if he moved he'd wake himself up.

→ "Sully." Robin murmured, trying to turn himself over so that he could lean against the other wolf. Hunter had fallen asleep in the living room and even though the door was open he was out enough that he didn't hear the rustling around or the soft voices.

→ "Don't try to move yet." His voice was soft but held with it the assurance of command over Robin. "You're safe now." It was true, Robin had never been safer than in this moment when he had both Hunter and Sullivan so intent on watching over him.

→ "Hungry." He muttered, letting himself stay flat intsead of trying to turn over since Sullivan told him not to. Honeslty, if this was the afterlife he expected not to be hungry but to feel well fed, so this couldn't be. Could it?

→ If Sullivan knew Robin was thinking about the afterlife, it would have terrified him. When people--wolves in particular--started thinking one way, he believed their track was headed that way. It's why he tried to stay so stoic all the time, thinking he'd rather be balanced than having a path all over the place. "I'll get you something. Do you think you can chew? Maybe I can blend steak." You could put steak in the blender, right?

→ Robin made a face at that. "Just cut into little pieces?" He wasn't going to drink a steak, that would be... that would be awkward and weird and eh coudln't imagine it would taste very good, though really he supposed that it would taste just the same.

→ Sullivan smiled at the fact that Robin was ready to at least chew small pieces. Just the other night he'd been spoon feeding him chicken broth. He didn't really want to leave his side, but it was far more important to get him fed. Leaving the room, he headed quietly downstairs and acted like he owned the place, rummaging for thawed steak in the fridge. He wasn't the best cook, but he could fry and cut up a steak.

→ Robin just closed his eyes and went back to resting. It was really all that he could do and it was really all he wanted to do so it wasn't too big of a deal. Moving around too much at this point wasn't really an option so he managed to lift one of his hands high enough to brush it over his bottom lip and then he let it fall back down against his chest. The ring was gone, he remembered it getting pulled out, and he wondered what even happened to it after Harris had dropped it.

→ Sullivan was quick about it, leaving the meat pretty rare. His natural instinct to take the best cut because he was stronger than Robin was overridden by his other instinct to protect his pack. He didn't even consider food for himself at the moment, even if it smelled quite good. Cutting it up so that it was just a couple steps up from blended, Trent took it upstairs. He couldn't remember if it was two or three, but he figured he could make more if Robin could stomach it. Heading back into the bedroom, he sat on the edge of the bed. "Try to sit up a little. I'll help."

→ Putting one of his hands down, Robin struggled to sit upright but it took a great deal of effort to even get himself lifted just a tiny bit off of the bed. Once he tilted up enough he let Sullivan adjust the pillows so it would hold him up and then he sank back against him, exhausted from the tiny bit of effort.

→ It was probably good for Sullivan to focus so much on Robin getting better. If he didn't have that to center his attention around he would have been going mad trying to find the two men that had left the house. He could still smell their scent a mixture of fear and something else that made even Sullivan shiver, a form of hate, but not quite. Holding the plate, he forked a small bite and fed it to Robin.

→ Robin took the bite and he managed to chew and swallow it before letting his head tip back again. He whinted and closed his eyes, his fingers coming back up to his mouth becasue his lip hurt probably worse than just about anything else in that moment.

→ "Hunter said it would heal." Sullivan offered, since it had comforted him he hoped it would make Robin feel better about it. He wanted to ask what Robin remembered but maybe it wouldn't be a good idea at this point. "We're going to find them, Robin. We're going to find them and kill them."

→ "They've done it before." he said softly, his eyes flickering over to Sullivan so that he could focus on his face for a moment. "They've doen it before to a lot of other boys like me." Or not exactly like him but like him if they didn't count him as being a werewolf.

→ "I know, I could smell them." Even the ones from Oliver's beginnings lingered in that basement. Their blood, their metallic fear and panic. Part of it had excited Sullivan now that he thought back on it. Sometimes he was afraid he'd let his wolf turn him into something even more cruel than he already was. He shook his head, swallowing hard. "Eat more." He put another forkful in the boy's mouth.

→ Eating was a slow process, but Robin managed it. In fact he ate everything that sullivan brought upstairs for him and that made him feel a lot better. At least his stomach anyway. He still felt weak and his limbs felt disconnected from his body, but he was healing and he was getting better, even after such a short time.

→ Sullivan laughed a little, seeing the improvement already. The sound was relieved and he glanced away. "Bet you're happy I toughened you up so much now, aren't you." But as soon as he said it, he felt bad for it. Like he'd known something like this was going to happen and the way he'd abused Robin was the same as how Oliver and Harris had abused him. The sudden discomfort made him stand up, shoving his hands through his hair.

→ His eyes followed Sullivan and he shook his head slowly from side to side. "No, that's not what it was like at all." Robin knew that this had to be hard for Sullivan. "But you did make me tougher. Thanks." Because if he hadn't gotten used to certain types of pain or gotten used to picking himself back up, he would have died in there.

→ He just nodded, knowing that talking so often got him into trouble, which was why he was quiet so much of the time. Moving to the window, he looked out of it, down onto the yard and the surrounding area. After awhile, he turned back around. "We'll stay here until you're feeling better, then we'll take you back home and you'll stay there. You can't ever leave again, Robin. Please."

→ "I have to leave sometime." He said softly, knowing that Sullivan would only worry. "I can't stay locked up at wolf haven forever." Admittedly, leaving without telling anyone was stupid but he'd be smarter about it next time if he decided to go somewhere.

→ "Where were you even going? What did you think you were doing?" Sullivan would have something to say if Robin ever tried to leave again. He didn't understand why they couldn't just keep Robin in a guilded cage, feed him bonbons all day, and make sure he was safe.

→ "I just wanted to take a couple of days for myself." he said. "So I took the bus to Seattle and I was just hanging out on campus. It was nice, I sat outside and drew everyday. I was staying nearby there. It wasn't a very long walk."

→ Sullivan persed his lips. He didn't suppose he could deprive Robin of freedom, but he knew Hunter could and that just might be the case for the next few months. "You didn't tell anyone. You didn't tell Haben?"

→ "No." He hadn't wanted to tell Haben. "Haben was spending a lot of time with Jeremiah so I just thought I'd give them some space." Even if Haben said he didn't want space. Robin was stubborn and once he got his mind set on it, he couldn't let it go. "I just went to Seattle. I've been gone for a while." No one had said anything about it.

→ "I just thought you were avoiding me." Sullivan could fool himself for a long time if given the opportunity. And really, sometimes Robin did settle into avoiding him and he didn't see him, but he should have known something was wrong. The guilt was plain on his face.

→ "No, I wasn't avoiding you." Robin said, shaking his head a little bit. "I just wanted to figure some things out for myself." That was all. "I'm sorry if you thought I was avoiding you."

→ "I just meant--" But really the words didn't matter and he shook his head, cutting himself off. "You should probably get some more sleep." Was how he finished that sentence. Sullivan could, at the very least, understand how someone might need to be alone to figure things out, to go away from all of the confusing things in his life.

→ ?

→ ugh i'm sorry this didn't blink and i thought you had wandered off again

→ D I thought so

→ "Will you lay down with me while I sleep?" he asked softly. "i'm afrad to sleep by myself." Because he was afraid he'd wake up again and be in that place that he didn't want to be in. It was horrifying to think that he had almost died there and that he would have died if it weren't for Hunter and Sullivan.

→ "Yeah, of course." Because Sullivan really had no intention of leaving Robin's side until he was completely better--maybe not even then. Settling down next to him, he was glad he'd taken the opportunity to wash off in the bathroom the previous night because now he just smelled like himself, and Robin, and a little bit of Hunter. It was a good mixture.

→ Robin tried to turn over again and he managed to get onto his side so that he was facing Sullivan. He made pathetic little whimpering noises the entire time but once he was there he wrapped his arm around Sullivan's waist and juts sighed softly. Okay, he was okay.

→ Each little whimper sent a pang down Sullivan's spine and he wanted to squeeze the other so tightly. But he was afraid he'd hurt him, so instead he just put his fingertips gently on Robin's hip, resting his hand there lightly. "If you died, I think I would have died too." It was very, very quiet, as if he wasn't quite sure he wanted anyone else to hear it.

→ Robin swallowed and remembered how to breathe after the pain settled and then he just looked upat Sullivan, more than a little surprised with his words. "Really?" hea sked softly. Sometimes he wasn't sure how Sullivan felt about him but hearing that made him feel a little funny on the inside.

→ There was still some part of him afraid to admit it, feeling as if he was betraying Austin because he felt that way about someone else too. But that's how it worked when he was caught in the middle, dominant and submissive, trapped somehow by his own nature. "Yes." Was all he could say to that.

→ That made him smile just a little, but smiling was painful so he closed his eyes instead and just leaned his head against Trent's chest. The arm that was over Trent's waist was just limp, too heavy to do anything with other than drape over the other boy's waist.