Work Text:
The first time Karin met Peter, she was four years old and toting a grumpy looking pink rabbit. The trip had been long and she was far too energetic for the store. Outside was a different story, there was a whole private world to explore with Bunny while Mommy and Daddy took care of whatever they needed to inside. There's a long moment where she stands, Bunny clutched to her chest and does nothing. She merely surveys the world around her seeking out the most interesting thing she can as any other four year old would.
Naturally, her gaze falls on a tree only a few feet away and gives it a speculative look. Just how high could she get up that tree? And would she get in trouble for climbing it? Probably but she wanted to climb the tree and climb the tree she would.
Stuffing Bunny under her arm she marches halfway to the tree. The sound of a scuffle, skidding feet catches her attention. She can feel three different signals. Two she doesn't like the feel of, they're cold, slimy like the gross stuff that grows on the surface of a pond. They make her shiver even as she changes directions and head toward them. The third she likes; warm, sort of fuzzy like Bunny.
Two boys she realizes when she finds the source of the sound. Three but the third seems to be cowering. He’s scrunched up with his back pressed against the wall. He looks scared and Karin thinks that someone should actually help him. A quick glance around and she knows that she's the only one nearby. She feels bad because she probably can't do much, she's tiny and those boys are huge, but she'll try anyway.
Wrapping a tiny hand around one of Bunny's arms she tosses the stuffed animal at the bigger of the two. "Leave him alone," she shouts and that gets their attention for a moment. Both of the bigger boys take one look at her, tiny hands on her hips when she only comes up to their chests. She doesn't even have all her teeth, what can she possibly do?
She huffs, how dare they ignore her. She can get an adult. She can bite them and kick them and make a nuisance of herself. They should be afraid of what a little girl could do because she's pretty damn creative when she wants to be. All the way she doesn't look away from the pale blue eyes on the boy still curled in on himself. She wants to tell him that everything is going to be fine, that she won't let them hurt him. She pulls her gaze away checking to see how far it is back to her parents, could she get them to come to break it up? Why does it have to be so far away-- forget it, she can help she's got this.
Karin dashes forward latches onto one of the boys’ legs and her teeth sink into his exposed calf. She might be missing her front teeth but she still has the ones that do all the damage. He yells and she holds on as he shakes his leg trying to get her off, she clenches her jaw so her teeth sink even deeper. Mommy is going to be so made that she bit someone, she was supposed to be a big girl and big girls solve their problems with words not their teeth. The other boy tries to pull her off, his hands under her arms and pulling.
Her legs lose grip first and she kicks wildly her feet making contact at least once, she swears he said something foul and his mother would wash his mouth out with soap later. But he lets go and she releases her bite to see why and she thinks he's bleeding from his nose. It looks a lot like blood anyway. The other boy reaches down to grab her by back of her shirt and she slips away back to the boy with the fuzzy chakra. And it seems that they've made something of a ruckus because Mommy and Daddy are coming along with a couple other adults that she thinks owned the store. Grinning she points mutely and the boys take off.
There's a series of questions that she answers and the blond boy seems to be doing the same with the adults from the store. But Mommy and Daddy don't look like their upset so Karin wanders away to pick up Bunny when they say they're proud of her for protecting the boy. The woman who owned the store however, doesn't look nearly as happy and flags over Karin's parents to talk. She moves to the boy holds out a dirty hand and grins, showing off the whole where her front teeth are supposed to be.
"I'm Karin."
"Peter," he looks sort of confused like he isn't sure what is going on here or why she's talking to him. Maybe the woman told him he shouldn't and that makes Karin frown. She likes his chakra, he'll be her friend whether the woman likes it or not.
"You know because I saved you, we're friends now. I'll look out for you." She just nods as if that settles everything and holds out Bunny, "This is Bunny; he'll look out for you too."