Chapter Text
Mare’s frustration with him stewed in the back of his head, bleeding through Night and manifesting as a snappish petulance. It wasn’t entirely Mare’s fault, though, and thankfully Night felt some of his patience return when he put some distance between himself and other people.
Nooked at the base of the Tree with a book in his hands had been great while it lasted. He heard the whispers of a trio of children some distance away. From their body language, it seemed like two were goading the third to approach him. Great. Night had gathered that even the younger kids had turned messing with him into a rite of passage.
The little bunny girl hopped closer, kneading her hands in her skirt pleats. She looked about half his age, perhaps seven or so. Night had the urge to drive the sharp end of one of the fallen branches that lay beneath the Tree through her chest.
Mare. Stop it.
The impression of his hands throttling her with her loose collar wrung into a garrote.
Mare, stop.
A wall of bone bullets battering the three whimpering and fleeing children.
Stop it!
- his fingers gouging their eyes -
Stop now.
- smashing their skulls to dust with a rock -
Enough!
- eyes bulging, suffocating on dripping tar -
You’ve made your point, Mare. Stop it.
Then fight back.
They’re just kids. No.
Less risk of losing. Easy targets. You’ll be able to practice for riskier encounters.
I’m not hurting children!
They have no qualms about hurting you!
They’re just stupid kids! They don’t know what they’re doing!
So teach them.
No.
The bunny girl had stopped about a meter from Night. She cowered as he glanced at her, and Night realized he had been focusing so hard on keeping Mare’s interjections in line that his eye lights had guttered out.
You’ll let yourself get harried by children and tell yourself that it doesn’t bother you because you don’t think it should.
Yep. That looks to be true.
Night probably should have nipped whatever mischief the girl had planned in the bud, but he didn’t want Mare to have any smidge of control in the mood he was in, so he focused on keeping Mare hemmed in.
“Um.” The bunny fidgeted more frantically, worrying a pinprick hole in the fabric. “My dad says.” She stopped herself before fully glancing back to her friends. If they were her friends. It had seemed like ages since anyone had teased Night in that way - daring him to do something that would awe them, rather than set him up for humiliation.
The bunny fussed with the growing hole between the threads. “My daddy says you’re sup- superf- superfl- fl- that you’re unnecessary.” Her head perked up and she regarded him haughtily. “And that Dream would be much closer to being the actual real tree guardian if you weren’t here to slow them down.” This last part came out in a rush of mostly-intelligible words. To be honest, Night was almost impressed at how the bunny managed to overcome her obvious fear.
Mare was steaming. Night needed to handle this situation in case he decided to fight him. “Does your dad know you’re this close to the Tree?” he asked.
Evidently, the bad mood leaking from Mare gave him some aura of menace. The bunny paled under her fur, and turned tail to chase after her companions, who were already fleeing.
Night rubbed his forehead. Mare’s frustration was morphing into an incessant tinny ringing in the back of his head.
“They’re kids,” Night said aloud, as thinking was giving him a headache. “You saw how deeply I rejected your suggestion. Now imagine every single adult coming at me with that same righteous fury. Going after weak kids like that will make me more despised, not less.”
And even chasing away the girl with a glare rather than protocol would get Night in trouble. With three witnesses to the incident, Night doubted he’d be lucky enough that all would decline to tell the adults about it. He’d be punished when they found out.
All in all, it had been a pretty bad day.