Chapter 2
The Spine was upset over Brianna leaving, arguably more so than when Holly left, but he refuses to let himself spiral into the same depression as before. Rabbit was sympathetic to start, but after three days, he was beginning to grow more and more annoyed by The Spine. Rather than being passive and secluded, Spine had taken to watching over his older brother's shoulder, ensuring he does nothing to get himself, or anyone else, into trouble, but of course, Rabbit viewed this as The Spine being a buzzkill.
"Sp-spine, I can l-look afta mys-self." He snapped, crossing his arms over his chest and puffing up annoyed clouds of steam, finally fed up with being babied by the titanium bot. "Ya d-don't have to be lookin' ova my shoulda all the time."
"I'm not looking after you, I'm merely making sure you don't get in trouble." He rumbles in a low baritone, adjusting his tie slightly.
The copper bot simply frowns more deeply. "That's the same thing as lookin' afta me, Sp-spine. I know you're upset ova Brianna leaving, you need to l-let it out. You can't keep w-watchin' ova my shoulda', you gotta f-find somethin' else to entertain yourself, she'll be b-back when she c-can." His expression softened slightly at the mention of the Walter Girl, he knew how difficult this was for him, but also annoyed by his brother's smothering amounts of attention.
"Of course I'm upset about her leaving, but I can't let that upset me, not after what happened last time..." He regretted the words the moment they left his lips, but he couldn't take them back. When he saw the obvious pain flicker through his brother's bi-colored optics, he reached out, resting a hand on the bot's shoulder. "Rabbit, I didn't mean-"
"I know what h-h-happened last time, Spine. You did mean it. It's m-my fault she died, and you wanna m-make sure is don't happen to anyone else." He cut him off and pulled away from his touch, the heartbreak scrawled across his faceplate obvious. He didn't say anything else, simply ran off towards the back of the manor.
When Rabbit's location disappeared from the Walter Wi-Fi, The Spine didn't question it, he simply sat down, sighing and breathed out a large plume of steam as he placed his head in his hands. That wasn't what he meant to have happen.

Peter made sure his clothes were clean and pristine as he was careful to avoid Rabbit's practical jokes and Hatchworth's rather messy sandwich making, as well as polishing his mask until the wood shined. He wanted to be absolutely sure that he looked nice and presentable for the new arrival, though it isn't likely to last for long. He made his way down the winding stairs with a nervous smile beneath the mask. Things had been a bit tense in the manor since Brianna had left, but he hoped that the arrival of Bunny might help.
Carolina was already waiting not far from the door, smiling slightly to be polite, but still somewhat upset at the loss of a friend. She started to stand up at the entrance of her boss, but he simply gave a polite nod that says it's alright for her to remain sitting.
Exactly on time, a tall woman in an immaculate Walter Girl dress strolled up to the door. A friendly smile played across her black lips, stark against her paper white skin. Thick black hair framed a gentle face, and she gave a slight wave to Carolina and Peter.
"Are you Blue Matter Mistress Bunny?" Peter asked, before he answered himself, "Of course you must be, why else would you be here? Hello, Miss Bunny, as you probably already know, I'm Peter Walter VI, and this is Walter Girl Carolina." He gestured to the Walter Girl who had gotten onto her feet, and waved back at Bunny. Peter grabbed the woman's hand and shook it vigorously, as he grinned nervously beneath his mask.
Bunny smiled and shook his hand in return, nodding in confirmation as he asks her name, a silent laugh as he continues on.
"Welcome to Walter Manor." Carolina chimed in when it became apparent Peter had finished. She was a bit surprised that Bunny hadn't said a single word yet, but she didn't comment on it, she figured Bunny would speak when she wanted to.
As if he could read her mind, Peter offered an explanation for Bunny's silence. "Bunny was born a mime, she can't speak, but she has her own methods of communication."
"Oh." Carolina said, a bit curious and surprise, but willing to figure this out. "Well, would you like to see our room Miss Bunny?" She asks politely.
Bunny gave a smile, and made a series of motions that roughly translated to mean 'Yes, but you don't have to call me miss, Bunny is fine.'
The Walter Girl smiled and gestured to Bunny, a bit surprised she'd been able to interpret those motions but doesn't question it as they begin their trek across the house.
"Well, Bunny, I'll leave you in Carolina's very capable hands." He slipped away, glad that that had gone far better than he had expected.

Rabbit didn't come home for hours, and when he did, he didn't use a conventional method. He knew Spine would be paying special attention to the doors, and so he decided to use a less conventional method.
His copper joints creaked loudly as he tried, unsuccessfully, to be quiet as he snuck in through the music room window. His grip slipped as he got part way through the window and sent him crashing to the ground, landing in a heap with a loud crash as he startled the drummer, who had been setting up a new drum kit.
He moved to Rabbit's side and helped im up carefully, concern etched into his features. "You alright there, Rabbit?" He asked, more than a bit confused as to why he had tried to come in through a window instead of the open doorway, but more concerned with the fall that the elder bot took, than anything else.
Rabbit groaned loudly as he got up, rubbing his forehead with one hand, one of the more human like traits he had unintentionally acquired over the years. "Yeah, I'm f-f-fine..." His clothes were slightly disheveled, clumps of dirt and grass clung to the knees and shins of his pants, and new streaks from freshly shed oily tears stained his faceplate, several smeared across from trying to wipe them away. It was almost painfully obvious where he'd been.
"Is there any particular reason you decided to try to use the window instead of coming in through the doorway?" He asked, fairly sure he already knew the answer, but asking anyways in case he had another reason.
"Just tr-tr-tryin' to change things up a bit." He shrugged. "No big d-deal."
Matt frowned as he saw straight through the rather obvious and pathetic lie. "You know, Spine was looking for you earlier. He seemed pretty upset, the last time I saw him he was near the front door, waiting for you to come back."
The copper automaton rubbed the back of his neck nervously and looked rather guilty, which confirmed Matt's suspicions. "Was he? I didn't n-n-notice..."
"Maybe you should go talk to him, whatever is is that he wanted to see you about seemed pretty upset." He prompted as gently as he could. He hated to see either bot so upset.
"I'll g-go see him later... I'm sure he's j-just fine." He looked away from the human, "I have some th-things I've gotta do... s-sorry for botherin' ya', I'll just g-get goin'..." He said as he turned to walk away, his head hung low as he internally kicked himself for having upset and worried The Spine.
Before he could get more than a step away, Matt grabbed his wrist for a moment, just long enough to stop him. "You know you can talk to us, Rabbit... We want to help you, and keeping it all bottled up... it's not good for you." He said before he released the bot to do as he pleased.
The copper bot gave pause before he turned and gently hugged Matt. "Th-thanks Matt... might h-have t' take you up on that s-sometime..." Before Matt could respond, he left the room, headed for the secret spot where he and Paige had made so many happy memories.
The room seemed cold and dim without her there, and as he sat there alone, all he wanted to do was hold her again, one last time. "I'm so s-s-s-sorry Paige..." He said softly. "Spine's r-r-right... it's all my f-fault you're gone..." Oily tears slid over the copper and oxidation for hours on end before he finally emerged once more. He wiped them away, and quietly walked through the manor as if nothing had happened. He even made a point of giving The Spine a cheery hello before he walked away as he tried his still broken heart.