Lory had been looking for Steve all day long. She eventually found Funk in the training grounds, using an extreme amount of energy to heal himself up. Lory walked over, “What happened to you?”
Funk looked at her, “Steve and Khione kicked my ass. Did you know, he can let them step out of him? They are nasty if they work together. I think I could have kicked his ass, but I held back.”
Lory sighed, “He did not do anything with Khione, I got angry at him. I might have said some stupid shit. Like, how I think he is mentally insane, and how I think he is evil. The moment I realized that, I was like, oh fuck. Do you know where he is?”
Funk shook his head, “Abby saw him leave town. She has been waiting at the exit to see if he is coming back.”
Lory left Funk and found Abby near the exit, most of the town is already sleeping. Haley had been avoiding Lory all day. Abby looked at Lory, “Did the bomb burst?”
Lory sighed, “Is he coming back yet?”
Abby shook her head, “I fear, he is not coming back today.”
Lory shed a tear, “I should not have yelled at him, I called him a monster.”
Abby looked at her, “Holy shit, Lory, are you totally bonkers? No wonder he left while being that angry. If there is one thing you should not do, it is to call Steve a monster. You know he is very sensitive about topics like that.”
Lory nodded, “I know, but it just came out when I got so angry, he is not the only person who has problems with rage.”
Abby shook her head, “I cannot believe, you would even think for one second, this new Steve would cheat on you.”
Lory sighed and rubbed her hands over her face, “You don’t have to rub it in my face. I am going out there to check if he went towards Goldia, can you keep watch, for if he comes back?” Abby nodded, and looked at Lory, who disappeared into the darkness.
Lory kept wandering through the dark, hoping to find any trace of Steve. After a few hours, she sat down on a log, close to the void. “Where did you go, my love? I am sorry for what I said to you.” She hung her head and cried for a while before getting up. I cannot believe he is making me feel these feelings. I never had these for Falcon. Not even when our son was born. They are both dead, and it is my fault, it is all my fault the Wolfine race is almost extinct.
“Alright, shake it off Lory, being sad is alright, but now you need to shake it off and move on, you are good at moving on.” Lory kept wandering through the night, but there were no tracks of Steve at all. She decided to call it for the night and decided to go back to Brickton. The sun already started to rise before she got back to Brickton. Abby still stood there, Lory chuckled, “No other watch?”
Abby shook her head, “I had a decent meal recently, a fine, nice sheep. Did you find any tracks of Steve?”
Lory shook her head, “None, if went that way, he covered his track insanely well, but I did not even manage to pick up a scent.”
Abby slowly walked over, “I am not sure how to tell you this, but Haley heard about some rumors, she is asking for you to come home and have a sturdy chat with you. You should hurry, she is packing up her adventuring gear to leave.”
Lory grunted, “Goddammit, I let things slip once and the whole fucking tower crumbles, I hate karma.”
Abby put her hand on Lory’s shoulder, “You will make sure everything will be fine, everyone can make a mistake. Now go to your daughter.”
Lory nodded and started running home, she walked inside and saw Haley packing gear. “Munchkin, what are you doing?” Haley did not respond. Lory walked over and put her hand on her back, “Hey, what is going?”
Haley pushed her away and yelled at her, “I heard what you said about dad, how dare you!”
Lory sighed, “What did you hear?”
Haley grabbed her bag and walked over to the door, “Why should I even talk to you?”
Lory gritted her teeth, “Please tell me what you are thinking.”
Haley sighed, “Fine, dad is amazing! And you call him a monster! He is working hard to make sure Shirley gets a safe place, her soul, he went all the way to save me! And you don’t even believe him, you saw it with your own two fucking eyes. How dare you call him a monster? He is not a monster, he is my hero! Am I a monster as well?”
Lory shed a tear, “Come on, I did not mean it like that, I was just angry because I thought your dad had done a bad thing. I should not have yelled at him. I have been looking for him, to apologize.”
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Haley screamed, “You should not have said those words in the first place. I am leaving to find him, and you cannot stop me!” Haley stormed through the door, without opening it, and the door fell out of its sockets again.
Lory walked after her, “Haley, wait! We can look for him together!”
Haley turned to look at Lory, and then she flipped her the bird. “Go fuck yourself, I am a monster, right? Maybe I will go insane and absorb people.”
Lory grunted, “Come on, Haley, I did not mean it like that.”
Haley continued walking as she yelled, “Talking bad about dad, behind our backs, how low can you go, Lorraine.”
Lory sighed, “Come on, not you too.”
Lory followed her to the exit. Haley turned around, “And don’t even think about following me, I am going to look in the void!”
Lory looked at Haley, walking away. Bella walked over, “That did not sound very good.”
Lory looked at her, “Please tell me the shadow world is not about to burst open.”
Bella shook her head, “I have it contained for now, but not for long. And it seems, the people who can close the shadow world are split up. Oh, there is something you might want to know.”
Lory exhaled deeply, “What is going on Bella?”
“Another woman disappeared, around the same time that Steve vanished. Her name is Rose, she used to work at the café. She has no friends or family, she has been alone all her life.”
Lory shook her head, “What are you saying, Bella?”
She shrugged, “I am not sure, but she has not returned, she used to be very silent at work.”
“She must just be somewhere in the village.”
Bella looked at Lory, “Or an angry Steve ate her.”
Abby walked over towards them, “No, she left town. She did walk in the same direction Steve went in.”
Lory looked at Abby, “You never told me what direction Steve walked towards.”
Abby shrugged, “You never asked, I assumed you are better than I am with tracking. You are a wolf, after all, can’t you use a scent of his to track him down?”
Lory looked at the horizon, “Not alone. If Haley and I worked together, we might be able to track him that way.”
Lory sighed, “I am going to try to find both of them. If Haley is in the void, I cannot find her. Bella, please keep an eye open to see if Rose comes back. Abby, keep an eye on the exit, I don’t care how many sheep you need to eat.”
The next six days, Lory spent all of her time trying to track down Haley, or Steve. However, another day had arrived, and she had barely slept the last six days. She started making breakfast, she did not like doing it herself. It is not like she had any other option. She missed Steve, and her daughter. She had totally let things crumble, she should have been more careful with her words. Or not let her anger speak.
After Lory had gotten ready for another day of tracking down. She walked outside, the door had been repaired, again. Bella stood there. Lory sighed, “What is the latest news?”
Bella grumbled, “Rose never came back. We have been looking all over Brickton, but no one saw her come back, and she has not been home in the last days. Do you think that Steve has done something to her?”
Lory shrugged, “How should I know? Maybe he got angry and absorbed her? They could be riding on a boat through a tunnel. Who knows, perhaps Rose decided to ditch town at the same time. How should I know?”
Bella stared at Lory, “You sound very desperate, and lonely. Do you really think Steve would do something to harm you? Even if he is angry with you?”
Lory started grumbling, “No, I don’t think so, but he is almost gone for a full week now, and Haley is not coming back either. What do you think Haley is doing?”
Bella shook her head, “Maybe she ate Rose?”
Lory had to laugh, “That is a good one Bella, thanks for making me laugh, I needed that. Haley and absorbing someone, that is never going to happen. But, I do need to find them to apologize, to both of them.” Bella chuckled with her before leaving.
Lory leaned against the house and thought back to her younger years, I cannot lose my family again. Despite our problems and Falcon being stronger, and a passive dick, I did love them. Lupus never found out I killed his uncle, but my sister threw my son through a portal. How would I even tell Steve, I have a son, and he is lost, somewhere?
First things first, I need to find him and apologize. Maybe I should tell him, what I think he is. No, that is a bad idea. At least Harper, the devil's son did not tell him, I am glad he stopped Melin from killing him. I wonder if we are going to see any of the devil's other children. Perhaps, Willow? Maybe she would try to kill Steve to free her dad. Not that Steve would die, he is fucking immortal. And, the chosen one, that is what I wanted to be with him in the first place.