Bearbones ➳

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David had watched with tired eyes as Brock had pinned a piece of paper to a wooden column. He slowly rose to his feet to check it out, curious as to what was going on now. He noticed Flintlock on the first thing, and squinted. Undercover. If there was anything the large man could go off of, especially any time he had attempted to sneak about undetected, was that he stuck out like a sore thumb. Internally scratching that off the list of things he shouldn't do, he found himself drawn to the decoration of the scarecrows. If he dragged Roxanne along, they could both talk while decorating. Maybe he could bring Oasis with him.

He turned on his heel and marched for his house, sticking his head into the door and calling for Roxanne to let her know where he was going, then he headed out. The large man put his hands in his pockets and whistled as he walked, nodding to the folk he passed by as he headed for the barn. Oasis whinnied when she noticed the large man come over, and she stomped one of her massive hooves on the barn floor. David greeted her with a smile and a soft "hey girl," rubbing her neck and nose. She nipped at his hair and he laughed, a booming noise that rumbled deep in his chest. He went to the tacking room and grabbed her reins.

David lifted the bit into her mouth and tightened the rest as according and lead her out of the stall so he could saddle up. He brushed her quickly, then pet her back as he left to grab her blanket. She had been doing much better, no longer looking like a wild horse now that the large man had been taking care of her. David threw her blanket over her back and settled the saddle down, doing the strap up. She snorted and bit at his hair again, and he laughed and pat her nose.

"I know, I know. You don't like the saddle. Can't ride you without it, though, can I?" He asked her quietly, and she let go.

He chuckled and lead her out of the barn.

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The stress of Flintlock was a lot for the large man. He often found himself busy near the barns, looking over the horses recently. He never was fond of them, but as he ended up growing to be bigger than most horses, that fear vanished. Somewhat. The void behind their eyes still left so much room for plans that David was not ready for. He pat his hand against one of the horse's necks, then left her to head into the yard. Off on the edge he spotted something that caught his eye, and instead of calling for anyone, he set off to look.

The man was fairly easy to spot, regardless of how hard he tried to hide. He was massive, a figurative mountain of a man with broad shoulders, a barrel chest, and massive arms. He was a strongman, and it showed in his round gut and massive legs, too. He was surly not someone to be messed with, but the man had a bleeding heart that wouldn't stop if he hurt someone by accident.

So the horse that had been grazing at the edge of the fence noticed the oncoming man and raised her head. Like himself, her mane was a mess -- knotted and wild. She was roan coloured, with a pale snout and dark legs. Her eyes, amber, did not hold the same hidden secrets. She studied the man like he had to be worthy to be near her. She snorted, pushing her nose into the air and stomped one of her mighty hooves.

It was then David realized that, much like their hair, she was also near damn built the same. She was stocky, with wide shoulders and a round stomach. She was not a Clydesdale, but she nearly looked like one. He wondered what she was. He held his hand out, trying to make himself seem as friendly as possible. David knew he couldn't outrun the horse if she were to turn on him, but it was worth a shot.

Especially when, after judging him for what felt like hours, she pushed her nose into his palm and exhaled.

Success.

"Hi, girl. What's your name? What, ah, what are you doin' out here? Didn't I put you all i- oh," his eyes trailed along the fence to see the damage she had caused to it to get in. "O- oh. You're wild," he breathed.

Oh, how the hell was he going to bring her up to Brock?

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ooc ;; // private with @Selena !! \\

ic ;; David never liked leaving a place he settled in, unless he had to leave. He had found a good, relatively-ish safe home in Bluestem, and settled down until he would have to leave again. His daughter was still missing, and he still needed to find her. Somewhere. He had talked with Selena maybe once or twice, and had talked to her at the Valentine's meeting. He had given her a friendship flower and fled shortly after she had taken it, afraid she might reject the offer.

The big man was nothing more than a gentle giant. He didn't know his own strength, and has often hurt people by accident. He has resorted to trying his best to be as gentle as possible, and if someone were to give him a piece of paper, the page would barely wrinkle when he'd grab it. He knew what his strength was capable of, and to say he was afraid was a little bit of an overstatement.

He was petrified.

Finding out that Selena was in Los Santos was easy; he had overheard somewhere that that was where she was. He had been worried about her, and with talk of a new possible baby, he wanted to make sure she was okay. He had his worries, and knew that he should keep his nose out of her business, but he couldn't help but want to offer assistance in helping with the baby.

So that's exactly what landed him outside the gate of Los Santos. It wasn't an easy trip, the man had a few scrapes on his legs, but he was finally here, and he felt exhausted. David had a bad reputation of pushing himself until he knew he was safe. He was like that with his own baby: he never slept, ate, or even so much as blinked until he knew she was safe and sound. After losing Roxy's mother, David often paced outside of Roxy's bedroom from fear that she would meet the same fate as her mom. They had moved shortly after the break-in, because David's grief was swallowing both of them whole.

He was protective, and he was worried. He passed the gate, making sure to close it behind him, as an act of politeness. He threaded his fingers together as he walked the streets, keeping his pale brown eyes out for Selena. He didn't know where, exactly, she would be, as he never bothered to ask around. The large man hated talking with other people, and often found himself shutting out others just so he wouldn't get overstimulated. Now his giant form moved almost silently until he came across the hotel.

From there, he took in a deep breath to gather himself up, and he walked up to the door and knocked.

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Reaching the border felt like a relief for a split second. He husked out, feeling his legs shake as he reached for somewhere to lean against. His hands failed to find something and, oh, he fell on his knees. He gasped upon the impact and remained still, hands splayed on the ground, as he struggled to breathe. His eyes were wide, staring hard at his hands as the world spun. He was so thirsty.

Eventually, he slowly stood up, breathing in heavily to catch his breath. His foot moved back to catch himself before he'd fall again, and he stared into the town that he happened across. When did he come across this? He wiped at his brow, letting a soft low groan leave him and he stood straight. He found safety.

Hopefully, of course.

His trust leaned on his shoulder and whispered doubts in his ear, telling him to just turn and keep going, but his stubborn soul decided to keep going.

Perchance his intimidation could scare off anything hostile.

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