LOOK UP TO THE SKIES AND SEE / rain

[wormwood.]

Regardless of what Roy may have thought, Wormwood would have been proud of his son with or without his flames until the day the hellhound drew his last breath, but he had to admit that there was a sort of sadness to the fact that Roy couldn't actually come into the little town most of Tanglewood's populace resided in. Not because Worm wouldn't visit him – in fact, the hellhound had decided to make it a habit to visit Roy at once daily, just to make sure the tiger didn't feel as though he was cut off from everyone – but because the canine knew full well that Roy would've preferred being able to explore Tanglewood more thoroughly, and interact with more of the others that resided there more regularly. Not everyone was as dedicated as Wormwood was to going and seeing the boy, and he had no doubt that Roy would eventually get tired of just having to deal with his adoptive father's face being the only one he knew well. This was why he was quite happy to encourage Roy with trying to control his own flames, and he would've been helping in any way that he could, but in all honesty it wasn't something that the older hellhound could really help that much with. This was just something that Roy needed to conquer on his own, with quiet encouragement.

The chaser had been vaguely concerned the first few times he had gone to see Roy and had found him doing nothing more than sitting in place, not doing his usual acts of exploring around, and at first he had been terrified that Roy was still trying to punish himself. Since Beck hadn't a chance to punish him directly, Worm was worried that Roy thought it was suitable for him to punish himself by just laying very still, not allowing himself the usual exploration he seemed to enjoy. However, this didn't seem to be the case, since rather than anything bad happening, or Roy getting worse for wear, it seemed as though something positive was actually being accomplished. Worm made sure to continue his visitation, even if he didn't say anything in fear of breaking his son's concentration, and he found that each time he did Roy's flames seemed to have died down somewhat. Sometimes only in minor ways, with only a few sparks disappearing, and other times in major ones, with enormous chunks of flames disappearing from the tiger's body. Worm had felt happiness every single time he saw another tiny part being snuffed away by Roy's pure concentration, and he had been wondering how it had been going that day, when a storm broke out among the clouds above.

Worm had already been on his way when it began to rain, and he found himself silently wishing not for the first time this week that he still had his wings to use as makeshift umbrellas. Still, he wasn't going to turn back without seeing how Roy was doing, so he continued to hop from log to log, being careful not to plummet into the muddy punishment that lurked below. Eventually the male reached the place he had seen Roy meditating recently, and he was surprised when the usual scent of crisp burning flames didn't reach his nose. Instead, he just smelled snuffed out smoke, and felt an insane sense of curiosity take him over, making him trot forward quickly. Soon he saw Roy, and when he saw the tiger sitting there without a trace of fire on his body, a grin immediately broke out over his muzzle, accompanied by an enthusiastic wagging of his tail. He quickly moved over to where Roy was, giving the other a moment of contemplation before gently touching his nose to the boy's head, barking with his voice full of warmth and happiness that he hoped his son reflected, "Roy... Roy, you got your flames to go down! I'm so proud of you... that must've taken a lot to do. And it means that you can even come and explore more of the territory... isn't that great?"

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