"Freddy, you're missing some," Chica warned, picking up some of the metal plattered that Freddy failed to collect. The grizzly rumbled a curse and took the items from the female, almost in a snatch. Chica mearly rolled her eyes and walked but a few feet away. She needed to keep working, yet still keep an eye on her new co-worker. Yes, the bear was a hard worker. He tried his best, but one thing she knew he needed to work on was communication. Freddy wasn't exactly kind towards certain breeds of customer. They just pulled at his cords untill they snapped and thus, so did Freddy. She nor Scott could really blame him for his current state. His mother meant the world to him and now she was gone.
After but a few hours, the number of patrons began to dwindle. Things began to relax considerably, meaning well for Freddy's frail temper. He sat down in one of the empty booths and pinched the top of his snout which was curled into a snarl. There was a slight creak as someone sat in front of him. His crystal eyes fell upon his co-worker, Bonnie, the cook. He tried a forced smile, but got nothing in return. Bonnie was a rather spry induvidual, not much smaller than Freddy but still as thin around the waste. He was a purple rabbit with ears slightly larger than the norm. Many could make the comment on how rediculous they looked on him, but they didn't. Bonnie was a kind person and everyone knew it. He was very popular around Ursius. Not to mention Chica's lover, and she was also a wellknown figure around those parts.
"How are you holding up?" he asked, tapping the pad of his paw on the table. Freddy only snorted at him, digging his claw into the side of his muzzle. Bonnie's ears twitched. "Okay... bad then... Uh... I'm sorry... about Gaia..." Freddy's fist came down on the table, splintering the wood as he let out a heavy snarl.
"I know! Everyone is sorry! It's all they can talk about and I'm sick of hearing it! I'm sick of hearing her name! All it does is make it even more obvious to me that she's gone!" he collapsed on the table, sobbing passionatly whilist digging his ebony claws into the stained wood. "I wake up every morning, hoping that it was all a dream, a horrible, horrible nightmare, but... it's not... No matter how much I hope and how might I prey..." The hare reached over the table and pressed a soft paw to Freddy's shaking back.
"I could never imagine losing someone that close to me and I don't understand the grief, but, Freddy, everyone is trying to help you, show you they care. They don't know what they're doing to you. We all mean well and we all will miss her, though not as much as you and Gerard. Why don't you just go home. I'll cover for you, okay?" Freddy lifted his head, crystal eyes bloodshot and soaked.
"I can't ask you to do that, Bonnie..."
"You're not. I'm volonteering. Go home. Talk to your father, or something like that. He's a course grizzly, but he has his ways." Freddy could sometimes remember his mother saying such a thing, but he'd often refuse to believe it. Perhaps she had truth in those words. Maybe it was time to trust them.
The knock upon Gerards door came as more a blessing now than it ever had been. He'd needed company or someone to talk to for a long time, be it someone who actually willed a visit or the post-dog. Either way, he was happy to have someone there... well, untill he saw who it was. The look on his son's face read as unsure, ashamed, and hopeful all at once. Gerard wasn't sure how he felt about that. Did he get fired on his first day? That wouldn't be a surprise. "Dad... I had... a breakdown and work and they wanted me to come home and cool off before getting back to work and well... I... I wanted to spend this time with you." Gerard couldn't believe his ears, so much so that he laid them flat against his greying head.
"Am I already losing my hearing? Did I just hear my son say he wanted to spend time with me?"
Freddy growled. "I'm a wreck and I can see that now. I'm stupid. I'm ignorant. I'm lonely... and I'm lost... I need guidence and I need someone to be there for me. Who better than someone who's going through the same thing?"
"So, now our grief is euqal, cub? Now my sorrow over her is as justified as yours?"
"Dad, please!" His voice rang with the feint hint of a sob. His eyes were pleading, genuinly and... never had Gerard seen it in that cub's eyes... He was scared... His ignorance had ran its course and Freddy was actually scared... He was aimless without his mother, always relying on her tender words and support. Gerard had always scoffed at it, never wanting to tend to his son as they had, but... had it really done this much damage? There sure was a lot to fix.
"Come in, Cub." Gerard ushered his son into the house and lead him into the sitting room. The posh red sofas were still as solid and uncomfortible as Freddy remembered, but the tender look upon his fathers face was concerning him more at the moment. "Freddy, do you remember when you were on vacation, and we'd all go out on my boat on the lake and spend days out there, fishing and playing pirates?"
"I was six."
"Yes, but do you remember?"
"Yes, I remember... When life was simple and seen through the eyes of an innocent cub who hadn't a care in the world..."
"Yes, well, what if I take you fishing, but instead of my boat, we take Oslow's and he'll come with us." Freddy gave a weak smile.
"Oslow? That old tick's still alive?" Gerard gave a humored scowl and snorted.
"Of course he is. He's not much older than I."
"Sure, but he's not one for keeping out of trouble. He may mean well, but a good heart can get you into the worst places these days."
"He's more stubborn than you. Nothing save for an intervention from the angels could kill that bear. Maybe not even that. Still, I think a little time with him, out at sea would do you and I some good. Maybe we'll head out on the far coast of Solace. They have some beautiful Commet fish and huge schools of Silver angles. It's a catch-and-release area, but it could be fun, nonetheless."
Freddy, who'd been wringing his paws for the past few minutes, finally looked up at his father and bore a soft, half-hearted, smile. "Yeah... I... I'd like that..."