There was a message waiting for Ronin when he got out of his meeting with the heads of the spring harvest committee. It was from Orla, and Ronin forced himself to read it instead of rushing blindly home.
It was what he had expected though. Nod hadn't calmed down at all, and Orla thought it might help if Ronin came home for lunch so Nod could see he hadn't left him for good. Ronin had planned to work through lunch in the hopes of getting enough done to only go in for half the day tomorrow, but he trusted Orla's judgment, and if he went home, he could let her leave for a while and get a break from Nod's screaming.
And Nod was still screaming. Ronin could hear him when he turned down the hall. As soon as he opened the door though, the screaming stopped abruptly.
Nod was sitting in the middle of the living room floor surrounded by a messy array of stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets. He stared at Ronin in surprise, as if he hadn't expected to see him again, then he picked up the nearest pillow and threw it at Ronin as hard as he could and started to cry, but at least it was at a slightly lower decibel than his screaming had been.
"Nod, no throwing," Orla said patiently, crouching down to pull the next pillow projectile from his hands.
Nod made a whining noise and snatched up Cheep-Cheep from his side, hiding his face against him. Orla patted his head and stood up.
"I'm glad you were able to come home," she told Ronin.
"Was he screaming like that all morning?" Ronin asked, taking off his sword and putting it away.
"He actually had to stop for a little while because I think it was starting to hurt his throat," Orla sighed, "I gave him tea with honey, and maybe I shouldn't have, because it helped, and he went right back to screaming. He's starting to sound hoarse again though."
"Did you try chamomile?" Ronin came into the room, and Nod looked up at him, then huffed and pressed his face back against his chickadee.
"Yes," Orla laughed softly, "I was actually hoping he would settle down and take a nap. He certainly seems tired enough."
Ronin reached down and picked Nod up. The boy didn't latch onto him, but he tucked his knees up and curled against Ronin's chest, sticking his thumb in his mouth and further quieting his crying. The living room was a mess of blankets and pillows, and Ronin recognized some of them from Nod's nest and some of them from the bedroom. He also realized all the books had been taken off the lower shelves of the bookcases.
"I see you did some redecorating," Ronin patted the whimpering boy's back.
"Yes," Orla nodded, "he was throwing everything he could get his hands on."
"At you?" Ronin frowned.
"No," Orla shook her head, "mostly at the front door. I pulled all the books he could reach and stacked them in your study, along with all his wooden toys. Having his stuffed animals seemed to help calm him a little, although he threw those a few times too."
"What am I going to do with you kiddo?" Ronin pressed a kiss to the boy's hair, and Nod gave a disgruntled whine, "I have a meeting I have to be at at three, but why don't you take a break, and I'll stay with him until then."
"That might help," Orla agreed, "he hasn't eaten anything yet besides the tea, so he's probably hungry, and you might be able to calm him down enough to take a nap. He's really tired."
"Yeah he is," Ronin bounced the sniffling child a little, "we'll get lunch, then I'll see if I can get him to go to sleep. Maybe he'll be a little less cranky for you when he wakes up."
"That sounds like a good plan," Orla nodded, "I'll see you in a few hours."
After Orla left, Ronin sat in the rocking chair with Nod in his lap. The boy squirmed until he could sit with his face hidden against Ronin's chest, which was probably not that comfortable with Ronin still wearing his armor. Nod was still in his fox sweater and his belled slippers from yesterday. Maybe Ronin would try giving him a bath and getting him into his pajamas before Orla came back. At least he would be warm and comfortable.
Nod lifted his head suddenly and directed an angry line of whistles and chirps at Ronin.
"I know you're angry at me kiddo," Ronin stroked back his hair, "I just don't know how to make it better. I promise no one is going to make you leave like that again."
When Ronin did find time to meet with Nod's advocates, he would have to stress to them the importance of moving slowly when introducing Nod to his new family once one was selected. They were going to have to make sure that everything from now on moved at Nod's pace, or they would just have a repeat of what had happened with Barnet.
Nod continued to scold him for a few more minutes, then stopped suddenly and pointed in the direction of the kitchen.
"Hungry?" Ronin asked, making the sign for it.
Nod frowned at him, his brow furrowing as if he was trying very hard to understand.
"Do you want some honey brittle?" Ronin tried, making the sign for honey brittle as well.
Nod continued to look confused, and just when Ronin was about to give up and take him to the kitchen to make lunch, he mimicked the sign for honey brittle back to Ronin and pointed to the kitchen again.
Ronin laughed, his shoulders slumping with relief, and he cupped Nod's face in his hands and kissed his forehead, "we'll go get some honey brittle, then have lunch."
It wasn't much given where Nod had been at before Barnet had come, but it made Ronin feel like maybe they wouldn't have to start completely from scratch again. He picked Nod up and headed toward the kitchen, and the boy yawned and wrapped his arms around Ronin's neck, resting his head on his shoulder.
Orla looked up from her book at the sound of shuffling in the hallway. Nod had been sound asleep when Ronin had left half an hour ago, and Orla had been hoping he would sleep a little longer. The poor boy was obviously tired and needed the rest.
Nod came into the living room dragging his blanket behind him and holding Cheep-Cheep. He yawned hugely and rubbed his eyes, then spotter her and scowled.
"Hello sweetheart," Orla said softly, "did you have a good nap?"
The boy growled and stomped off in the direction of the kitchen. This may or may not have been better than screaming, and Orla got up to follow him. The general has said they had had lunch, but if Nod was still hungry, she could certainly make him a snack.
Nod dropped his blanket and Cheep-Cheep in the door way and proceeded to check every cupboard and the pantry, slamming closed the doors when whatever it was he was looking for wasn't there. When he finished the kitchen he stomped past Orla, stooping to pick up his blanket and Cheep-Cheep as he went.
The process repeated itself in every room in the apartment. Nod looked under the bed and under Ronin's desk, behind the couch and under the table. Every time he didn't find what he was looking for he got more agitated, growling and barking at the empty spaces. Orla followed, watching him with some puzzlement.
"What do you need sweetheart?" Orla asked, making the sign for 'help'.
Nod ignored her and marched up to the front door, pulling hard on the handle and trying to open it. It was latched above where he could reach though and there was no danger of him getting out.
"You can't go out Nod," Orla told him gently.
Nod barked at the door and when that didn't get him any results, he started pounding on it with his fist and yelling. Orla sighed softly and plucked the child away from the door, setting him down on the other side of the entry way.
"Are you looking for Ronin?" she asked, interrupting the breath he was taking to start screaming.
Nod paused at Ronin's name, his head cocked to the side and brow furrowed. He stared at her for a moment, then pointed to the door insistently.
"Don't worry," Orla told him, "Ronin will be home in a few hours."
Nod pointed again and barked.
"You can't go out," Orla shook her head, "Ronin will be home as soon as he can."
Nod glared at her, but Orla patiently continued to stand between the boy and the door. After another minute of glaring and growling, Nod screamed and turned around stomping into the living room and sitting in the middle of it with his blanket over his head.
Orla was almost relieved until Nod started screaming and crying from under the blanket. The poor boy was so frustrated he didn't know what to do with himself.
Orla picked up a picture book and went to sit in the rocking chair near where Nod was screaming. She flipped it open and started to read. Nod probably wouldn't hear her over the screaming, but maybe hearing a familiar voice would help calm him down eventually.
"How did he do?" the general asked.
"He searched the apartment for you a few time, and he screamed most of the afternoon," Orla told him.
That Nod wasn't screaming now had more to do with him having screamed himself hoarse than any real difference in the boy's level of anger and fear.
"Apparently, he thinks you might fit in the kitchen cupboards," she added.
"Of course," Ronin rubbed the bridge of his nose, "he fits in the cupboards, so why wouldn't I."
"Exactly," Orla nodded.
"I don't know what to do with him," Ronin sighed wearily and started putting away his weapons and armor, "he wasn't like this when we first found him. Do you have any suggestions?"
Orla paused to think. She doubted there was anything she could tell the general that he didn't already know, but she appreciated that he valued her thoughts.
"I think," Orla said slowly, "that he is very angry and very frightened, and that's a lot of emotion for a little body to hold, and he doesn't quite know what to do with all of it. I'm not sure exactly how to help him, but he's always done better when things are consistent."
"Yeah, he does," Ronin agreed.
"He also seems better when you're here," Orla pointed out, "he's still angry, but I don't think he's as frightened. So maybe if you could make it home for lunch and try to be home at around the same time in the evening for the next few weeks, it will help him remember that you're just gone for a while and then you're coming back; you haven't left him for good."
Orla knew the general did his best to give Nod as much attention as he could, but it wasn't always possible for him to be home at the same time every day or to make it back for lunch. She would have suggested that Ronin take a few days off, having him home for a while would probably help the most, but she knew that wasn't necessarily something Ronin would be able to do, even if he wanted to.
"Well, I can try," the general locked the weapons cabinet, "I need to go in tomorrow, but I'll talk to Captain Finn about trying to take more afternoons off. Will tomorrow work for you?"
"Of course," Orla appreciated that Ronin always asked and never assumed that she would be available; this was currently her only position, but it was still nice that he considered it.
Orla said her goodbyes and left for the evening. She really hoped that Nod would settle down and come out from under his blanket at some point before bedtime. The poor boy needed a respite from all his frustration and fear, and so did the general.