It had been three days since the Jabberwocky incident, and the town was nowhere near recovering. They were able to get the creature under control, but that was just the start. The Everafters were about to start a riot, because it didn't take too long for someone to realize that the Jabberwocky had been locked behind a barrier, which meant that the barrier had come down, even just for a moment.
The Grimms had retreated into the safety of their house. Relda and Jacob wouldn't even leave their individual rooms. They were traumatized, and unable to function at all. Canis really found himself being put to the test to take care of them and keep them safe.
The house protected them from the Everafters, but that didn't stop them from coming to the house to demand freedom, justice, and answers. Not even The Wolf growling and threatening the desperate and angry people could keep them away for long. Something else needed to be done.
Canis knew that he needed to talk to Relda about what they could do going forward, but she wasn't ready yet. She was completely inconsolable. She had barely spoken a word after what had happened to Basil. Canis could provide company, but he couldn't give Relda the comfort that she really needed.
He focused his attention on her, but she was far from the only one she was worried about. Jacob was in an even worse state than Relda was, and Canis could understand why. He knew all too well just how debilitating guilt could be. It could eat someone up.
Canis tried to talk to the boy, but he had locked himself in his room, and he refused to come out. He wouldn't even leave his room to eat. He wouldn't listen to a word that Canis said. He thought that the only person that could pull Jacob from his own head was Relda, but in her grief she was in no state of mind to face her youngest son.
Canis knew that she still loved him. He was her family, and Relda cared about family more than anything else. But in a short period of time she had lost her husband to the Jabberwocky, and she hadn't heard a word from her oldest son since the attack. He had left in the chaos, and Canis didn't think Henry was going to come back any time soon.
It was hard to lose family members so unexpectedly, but what made it so much worse was that this whole incident was Jacob's fault. He had tried to help his brother, and it had backfired horribly on him. Canis didn't think that Relda blamed Jacob, or at least she wasn't mad at him, but her hurt was still raw. She wasn't ready to address it, not the way that Jacob needed. It would be all too easy for her pain to be expressed through anger, and she knew that if she expressed fury towards Jacob for even a moment, she could very well lose him too.
To avoid doing that, Relda wouldn't even talk about Jacob. Maybe after the funeral she would be ready to face him, but until then, she more or less ignored her son, and that did nothing to make Jacob feel better.
Canis felt like the other shoe was going to drop, and he was going to be ready for it.
When Relda didn't feel up for leaving her room, Canis would bring her some simple food and make himself available for whatever she needed, whether it be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, or some space. When she felt a little better and could leave the room, he would join her in the kitchen as she tried to cook her stress away.
It was only the day before the funeral did Relda start to really pick herself up. She wiped her tears, straightened out her hair, and told Canis that they needed to have a plan for tomorrow.
"Basil and I were both aware that he wasn't loved by this community." Relda said. "But he doesn't deserve the disrespect and hate that will surely take over his funeral."
"No, he doesn't." Canis said. He could feel the protective Wolf in him getting ready to rear its head. "I can keep those fools away."
Relda gave him a sad smile and put a hand on his arm. "I know you can, my friend, but Basil wouldn't want a battle over his grave any more than he would want a protest." She moved her hand until it was resting in his. "Besides, I don't know how I'm going to get through tomorrow as it is. I'm going to need you at my side, now more than ever."
Canis frowned and pushed the Wolf down, because that was what Relda wanted. "So what do we do?"
Relda pursed her lips. "I've been thinking, and I fear that a confrontation is inevitable. The Everafters have been growing bolder and more desperate every year, and this might have just been the breaking point. Even if we get through the funeral, what then?"
Canis knew that as long as Everafters, or anybody, threatened the Grimms, he would be there to protect them, but he knew that Relda didn't want a war. She wanted this problem to go away, but Canis couldn't see a solution.
Relda sighed. "The Everafters won't stop. Not as long as they know that one of us has the knowledge to bring down the barrier." She swallowed thickly and squeezed his hand. "Not as long as they remember."
It didn't take long for Canis to figure out what she was getting at. "You want to erase their memories?"
"I don't think we have a choice." Relda said.
"That will take a lot of work." Canis said. During his time living with the Grimms, he'd learned a lot about what they did. Basil had taught him the basics and principles of magic, though he didn't want to use any himself. Canis had a Wolf living within him, desperate to get out. He didn't need more magic than that.
The first thing that Canis had been taught was about the forgetful dust. Basil had thought it was inevitable that they would have to use it to clean up a mess that Jacob had made. He was sure this wasn't quite what the man had in mind.
Basil had told Canis that forgetful dust was deceptively simple. For small problems or shorter memories, it worked like a charm. Things got tricky when someone tried to erase the memories of multiple people at a time, or tried to erase more than just a few minutes. To get rid of the memory of the Jabberwocky, they would have to erase the past several days from the whole town. That was far too much.
Relda's eyes were wet with tears. "We have to make it work. We don't have a choice."
Canis huffed, hating that he couldn't just fix everything that was hurting Relda like this. "If you think that's what's best, then I'll help you." It was what he was here for. He had told Basil he would take care of Relda, and he intended to keep his promise.
It was fairly early in the evening, but Relda was emotionally drained and already exhausted about tomorrow. Canis left her to sleep, reluctantly making his way to Henry's old room. He wondered where the young man was right now. He'd briefly returned after the Jabberwocky attack, but when he found out what had happened to his dad he had vanished again.
If Canis wasn't needed here, and if it weren't for the barrier, he would go after Henry, just to ease Relda's concerns. Right now the only thing he could do was hope that the boy came home, even if just for the funeral. He deserved to say goodbye to his father and find closure with his family.
Canis sat on the bed and meditated. He hadn't slept since the attack, but he was able to draw some power from the Wolf to keep himself awake and aware. This wasn't a permanent solution, but for the time-being he thought that it was necessary. The Grimms needed him, and he couldn't very well help them if he was asleep.
Canis meditated and listened, finding a rare moment of peace in the house, and within himself. For hours he sat there, but his focus never wavered. When a door opened, he heard it, and he listened intently.
He could tell by listening to the footsteps going down the hall that it was Jacob. He thought the boy might be getting a snack or taking the chance to stretch his legs, but he didn't let his guard down. Canis listened carefully, and when he heard the front door being unlocked he didn't hesitate to act.
Making sure he had his personal set of keys, which Relda had given to him weeks ago, he quietly left the room and went downstairs. Jacob was already outside. He listened carefully for any trouble that the boy might get himself into. Fortunately, there were no Everafters here so late. The boy wasn't going to be stoned to death right outside his home.
Canis left the house, locking it up behind him. He stayed far enough behind Jacob that he wouldn't be seen or heard, but because of his enhanced senses he could see and hear him himself.
He thought that Jacob would go to where he had lowered the barrier, or the place where his father had died. Canis didn't think that the boy was in a good mindset to handle the locations that represented his guilt right now, but he could understand the temptation. More than once he'd wished that he could return to the woods where the Wolf had attacked Little Red Riding Hood. Guilt could be a very powerful motivator, and it was so easy to try to punish oneself.
Jacob stayed on the edge of town, not stepping onto a normal street. He went nowhere near the asylum, and in fact made his way to the other side of town. Canis had no idea what the boy was up to, and he stayed in the dark up until he saw the boy approaching the train station. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the boy was planning on leaving town.
Jacob went to the ticket counter and looked around it for several minutes before he accepted that the station wasn't open. The boy looked dejected as he set his bag on the ground and sat on a bench. He seemed determined to just wait it out, which told Canis that this wasn't a spontaneous decision, or else Jacob would just walk out of town. No, the boy had thought this through, as much as he was capable of doing.
"I'm assuming your mother doesn't know you're here." Canis said as he finally revealed himself to the teenager. Jacob let out a panicked sound as he whirled around to face Canis. He realized that the boy wasn't in a good state of mind to be startled by a beastly Everafter.
"Canis." Jacob said breathlessly. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing, but I have a pretty good idea." Canis said. "You're running away."
Jacob flinched. "I'm not just…I mean…I can't stay here."
Canis sat on the bench next to Jacob. "Your mother will be devastated if you leave without a word."
Jacob's face fell. He looked distraught, and so young. He was only sixteen years old. Still just a child.
"She'll be better off if I'm not here." Jacob said. Canis wasn't used to this amount of self-deprecation from the boy. "She hasn't even been able to look me in the eye."
Canis knew that Relda had been hurting these past few days. She hadn't been able to face Jacob, because she'd been afraid of hurting him. But that distance had hurt the boy, who was just drowning in his own guilt. It was too much for him.
Canis felt like he should convince the boy to go home, to reassure him that the guilt would ease with time, but he didn't have it in him to give false reassurances. Relda still needed time before she could even look at her son without feeling the loss and grief, and it would take even more time before things could even remotely resemble the way they'd been before. Jacob didn't really have that time. With every day that passed that he had the guilt of his father's death looming over his shoulder, the more difficult it would be to learn to live with the guilt.
Canis hadn't known Jacob for very long, but he knew that when the boy was upset he needed one of two things. Preferably, he needed his family to lift him from the hole he had dug himself into, to support him. Right now, he didn't have his family, which left option two. He needed the space, freedom, and time to figure things out for himself.
Jacob wanted to run away from his problems and flee from the guilt, because it was easier than staying in the house and town that was full of nothing but memories of what he had once had and could never have again. It was a childish decision, but that didn't mean that it was the wrong one.
"Can you not wait for another day or two?" Canis asked. "The funeral."
Jacob rapidly shook his head. He looked like he was about to start crying. "I can't go. I can't…I can't do it." Canis understood, though he knew that Relda wouldn't. She considered funerals to be a time to honor the dead, and she would think that Jacob and Henry skipping the funeral would be spitting in the face of their father's memory.
Canis thought that funerals were for the sake of the living, giving them the chance to say goodbye, but if that wasn't something Jacob was ready for, he couldn't force it. He needed some time and space to figure things out. When he was ready to say goodbye to his father, he could always visit his gravesite.
So he didn't say a word to convince Jacob to stay. That wasn't what either of the Grimms needed right now.
Jacob looked so lost and small. Canis wasn't the type for physical affection, but Jacob was, and the boy hadn't felt human contact in days. So even though he didn't know what he was doing, and he was worried that he would do something wrong, Canis reached his arms out and wrapped them around Jacob's shoulders. The boy made a confused sound as Canis pulled him against his chest.
It didn't feel natural, and by Jacob's stiff stature, he felt as comfortable about it as Canis did. The teenager didn't pull away. They may be uncomfortable, but they were both going to take what comfort they could get.
"I'll take care of your mother while you're gone." Canis said. "Take all the time you need to figure yourself out."
Jacob sniffled and buried his head in Canis' chest to hide the fact that he was crying. "Mom's gonna hate me, if she doesn't already."
"She doesn't hate you." Canis said. "She may not understand, but she could never hate you."
Jacob scoffed and pulled away from him, clearly not believing a word he said. Canis knew that he wouldn't be able to change the boy's mind. This was something that Jacob would have to figure out for himself.
"Take care of yourself." Canis said. "And remember that your home will be waiting for your return."
Jacob swallowed thickly and wrapped his arms around himself. "There always has to be a Grimm here." Canis hadn't been talking about the barrier and the family's responsibilities. He'd just meant that Jacob didn't have to say goodbye forever. But he wasn't ready to hear it. Maybe someday, he would be.
They didn't talk much after that. Jacob sat there, waiting for the station to open so he could leave. Canis sat quietly at his side. The hours passed, and the sun came up. The station opened. Canis made sure that Jacob got his ticket, and he made his way back to the Grimm's home. He needed to be there for Relda today, now more than ever.
Maybe after the funeral, and when the memories of the townsfolk were taken care of, Canis could convince Relda to get out of the house for a few days. She needed a change of scenery. They couldn't leave the boundaries of the town, and staying in the town itself would probably be more stressful than beneficial. Canis would think of something though.
Maybe they could explore the woods near the Grimm house. It would give Relda the fresh air that she desperately needed, and Canis could protect her from any trouble they might run into. It shouldn't be too hard to convince her. Canis had smelled the stink of magic when he went into the woods, and there was nowhere near enough wildlife as there should be. Something supernatural and magical was residing in these woods, and this mystery was probably just what Relda needed to get her back on her feet.
It would take them time, but Relda was strong. She could overcome this, and Canis was going to be right at her side every step of the way. She'd saved him from himself. The very least he can do is return the favor.
As long as she needed him, he would be right here.