Post by Shinku on Dec 6, 2016 12:05:51 GMT -5
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to clear up a silly misunderstanding which could easily be resolved by you pointing out the mistake, but which you are feeling uncomfortable to address because you somehow missed the right timing?
Then you know how Dan Delion was feeling now.
And when would the right timing have been anyway? Right at the beginning, probably, or as soon as possibly, right? So how come it's so hard to bring it up now, when you feel like the time to say it has passed?
It might make the Papa Fox feel as if Dan had misled him all this time. Not like they had spent much time together yet, but somehow a part of Dan's mind was insisting that they should have noticed and cleared the mistake much earlier
And last of all... saying stuff like... "Erm... I'm actually a guy." really sounded strange and embarrassing, even in his ears.
It was fine to be confused when you were wearing woman's clothing and determined to pass as one, for whatever reason present... but to think he would actually be mistaken for one in his normal garb was a little awkward, to say the least.
"Err yeah... your wife is quite right. I'm a man and I do actually prefer the male pronoun if it's all the same to you."
It was liberating to have the misunderstanding "cleared". Now Dan could focus on the important stuff again, rather than to worry about his image and stuff.
The room they had gotten was neither big nor small, but it was better furnished than the young Delion would have expected. There was a nice fluffy bed, a big wardrobe and even a table. The wardrobe was large enough to stand in and offered more room than they would possibly need. There was even a separate little bathroom and Dan concluded that it was a room for those who stayed longer than just a few days. The young man had no intention on becoming a long-term guest and didn't even bother to unpack his bag, but for now he found the accommodation more than suitable.
Hearing that Myla was afraid of the Monster in the Darkness made him smile though. It was a little smile without mockery and it was about the fact that despite all her hardships, the little mink girl was just like the other kids in certain situations.
"Miss Eri, a kid from the neighbourhood I was looking after, was also scared about monsters under her bed. I don't think that's something to worry about, all kids go through a phase like that. As long as we can assure them that we're here to protect them, it should be all right."
He shook his head as if he had just said something very stupid, and indeed he had.
"But it's not like I need to explain that to you. Both you and your husband have been doing that for a long time now."
Myla's call disrupted the conversation and the parents went over to look what it was about. Pondering, Dan examined his adoptive daughter's find. It was not unexpected to find something that looked like stolen goods in a lawless inn, but it brought a lot of problems with it which would need to be addressed.
Would the thief come back for his treasure? Or was the criminal unable to do so? Maybe he or she had already been caught by the Marines, or maybe they were lying low and waiting for security to slacken again before they try to sell it? If the criminal thought his hiding place was save, she wouldn't care about people using the room... but what if it was a person who was slightly paranoid and kept an eye on things?
So many possibilities... and also many options for action. Should he take the box and bring it to the Marines? But only telling them where he found the box might not be enough to have them close the bar... The lawkeepers usually needed solid evidence before they could act. Or at least that's how it should be.
After thinking for a while, Dan decided that he was a Bounty Hunter - although he wasn't sure yet if he could keep a dangerous job like that when he had a kid to look after - and the job of a hunter was not to bring in stolen goods... though it could be... but mostly to catch the criminals. For now, it was best to leave things where they had been. The last thing they needed was a mad thief coming after them for his loot.
"You're right Myla, this is not important stuff at all, just some glittering accessory someone must have left here. Lets tuck you in, shall we? Can you please put this back from where Myla took it Mr. Fox? Oh.. how do you actually wish me to address you?" he wondered.
He had thought about the toys as "Myla's parents" but that wasn't a very good way to address them and he wasn't sure what they thought about Mr. Fox and Mrs. Kitten...
"A story? Yes of course! Let me think for a moment."
The Rabbit Princess Part 1
"Once upon a time a princess was born in the kingdom and everyone was very happy for the royal couple. They had stayed childless for so long that they'd nearly given up, but now life had presented them with the loveliest little girl who could ever be.
There was one person however that was worried. It was her father, the king. He had been reading a lot of books and was starting to think that, for sure, someone would try to harm his little girl, for in most fairy tales the princess always got cursed by the witch or abducted by a nasty dragon. But this would not happen to his own daughter he vowed and made all that was possible to protect her.
The girl grew up, protected and safe. Too safe and too protected, for the girl had adopted her father’s fears and grew up to be a very shy and timid person that was scared of nearly anything. In an attempt to ban everything dangerous in the presence of the princess, the king had forbidden to bring sharp objects to her room. This included scissors as well and her hair grew wild and unruly for the kid had developed a fear of everything that had to do with mending hair, including brushes.
After a while of not brushing it, her hair was standing up in two big wisps, one on the left side of her head, one on the right. It gave her the look of a rabbit and people started to call her the Rabbit Princess, both for her hair and for her anxiousness that had become well-known through the kingdom and which matched the timidness often attributed to the animal.
When she turned ten years old, she was so easily scared that she rarely left the tower room she lived in. Aside from her parents she only ever talked to her handmaid and the cook, who was a very friendly old lady who always put something tasty on her meal and who smiled and welcomed her warmly on the rare occasions where the princess left her room to visit her in the kitchen.
And twice a year she sat on her balcony and chatted with the flying fish which migrated west or east, depending on the time of the year. One particular goldfish had become a good friends of hers and the Rabbit Princess always eagerly awaited his return, although him leaving again always left her sad and moody for weeks to come.
"Why don't you come with me?" he asked her as he always did whenever he passed and the Rabbit Princess would look out at the wide beckoning scenery and at his big strong back that could carry her and would wish that indeed she could just join him. But then she would look down and see the long fall from the sky to the hard ground, and her heart would become weak and fearful and she would politely decline his offer."
"And I'll tell you the next part another time." He said, as it was really time for the kid to sleep.
"I'm going to wash my face and then I'll be back. Mama and Papa are going to take good care of you till then. Sleep well dear."
Dan gave her a kiss on the forehead and went to the bathroom to wash and to comb his hair. If he didn't... the long hair would be horribly unruly in the morning!