He had asked her, time and time again, to include him in planning when she came and went. He strongly preferred she stayed, but the red Seer wasn't one to listen. She never had been. Big Bad stood before her den, ears pulled back and face taunt as irritation rippled through his jaw. Of course she was gone, and he knew better than to search the pack grounds. She had been frustrated lately, and that often meant it was time for another game of vanishing into thin air.

      It was meticulous, really. Her running off, him looking for her, her returning the moment he gave up. Months ago he would have panicked -- would have sent a flight of birds after her and rounded up the Scouts. Now, he knew the drill, and he knew very well a bird had seen her leave and was tracking her. He also knew she had her own bird friend watching him, relaying to her the exact moment he'd give in and move on.

      He was done with it. He loved her, without question, but the games were tiring. He didn't want to play anymore. Whatever she needed to sort out through her head, it didn't need him. He wished it did, but she had stopped relying on him long ago. She had her own demons, and Red handled them in her self torturous ways. She was lost in whatever consumed her, and Big Bad desperately wished he had the remedy.

      But he didn't, and she didn't want his help. He exhaled heavily, stepping away from her den to continue his path to check in on the newest pups. He hated the feeling of being useless, but for now... that's all he was to Red. He'd be there when she sought him; if she ever did. He couldn't keep pushing her -- it'd only shove her away more and more. That's what his mother had stated, and he was prone to trust in the wise Oath. 'She'll come around, someday,' Oath had promised, and Big Bad held onto her words dearly. How much longer would it be before Red finally reached out? Before she finally revealed the visions that plagued her and embraced the gift she so hated?

      He couldn't know her plight. He didn't pretend to, either. He had his own struggles, but seeing into the future? Hell, honestly? He didn't ever want such a power. It could help him lead, sure, but the price it came with -- he couldn't. It made sense, in the end, why Red felt the way she did.

      He was thankful he was on his way to the pups. The thought of his Seer daughter had been weighing heavy on his mind the past few months, and her continuous increased absence unsettled him. How he wished he could go back to the time Woodcutter and Red were pups; it was all so simple then.

      Unfortunately, those days had long passed, and he was left with only the memories to hold onto.

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