Over the next two weeks RJ withdrew from everyone and everything. When he entered the kitchen to get something to eat or drink, he was silent, pale, his expression blank, and his once bright, green eyes dull and lifeless. He seemed more like a ghost than a person.
His friends tried to get through to him but failed every time.
Finally they decided to confide in one of the remaining older Masters.
Master Phant was visiting relatives, so they went to Master Swoop.
The Bat Master welcomed them as warmly as he could after he had learned of Master Finn's murder, and they told him about RJ.
"This is a hard time and painful loss for all of us, but it hurts RJ the most."
"We know that. Master Finn was his father," Jarrod said.
The Bat Master sat down on the grass, and the others did the same.
"Finn was more than just RJ's father. RJ's mother died when he was only a few months old, Finn was all he ever had. He was RJ's father, of course, but he was also more than that."
This confused the group.
"What do you mean?" Flit asked.
"Finn was RJ's source of comfort and safety, his guardian angel on earth you might say. As a child, RJ adored Finn as Finn adored him. RJ depended on Finn more than a child would depend on both their parents. Whenever he couldn't find Finn, he panicked."
Flit and teens listened with interest now.
"The time of RJ's greatest dependancy, besides when he was a baby, happened when he was ten. He was playing catch with a friend, and the ball rolled out into the road."
The group had a feeling they knew what was coming.
"RJ went to get it just as a car came flying around the corner. He was hit and his legs runover."
They listened in silence, wanting to hear more.
"He was taken to the hospital, and doctors told us that he was paralyzed from the waist down."
Flit and teens gasped softly.
A ghost of a smile played about Master Swoop's lips.
"But good old Finn, God rest his soul, wouldn't believe it. When he was able to take RJ home, he worked with him to get feeling and control back in his lower body. In two years, RJ's lower body was a good as new."
"Wow," Flit couldn't help but say.
The other nodded in agreement.
"During those two years, RJ's dependancy on Finn was greater than it had been in years. The poor boy lost hope very early on, and that was the first time Finn had ever been stern with him. It hurt him emotionally, which Finn regretted, but he assured him that it was for his own good. RJ kept his hope after that, but the bond between him and Finn would never be the same."
The brief pause.
"Finn had sheltered RJ because he feared losing him, but in sheltering him, Finn had only weakened his spirit. When RJ came to me, after standing up to Finn for the first time, he lost hope very quickly and easily. I had to undo ten years of being sheltered from the world to reach the true him. I don't blame Finn for doing what he did in his desire to protect RJ, but that's why RJ's taking this as hard as he is. Even now, any embrace from Finn made RJ feel as though nothing back could happen to him, but now he'll never have that again. He'll never hear Finn's voice soothe, comfort, or praise him, he'll never hear his laughter or see his smile to let him know eveything it all right, he'll never be able to look into his eyes and see the warmth, love, and pride Finn had towards him. That knowledge is tearing him apart, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"What?! You're just going to give up on him?!" Jarrod exclaimed, leaping to his feet.
"No. There's nothing we can do about for the only one that break through this is RJ himself. It's out of our hands, so we just have to trust RJ and have faith."