Kind Hands

The morning sun rose- but my mood didn’t. I’d made it back inside after my argument with Twilight, yet I’d found no comfort from the mattress below me; it was a different softness to which I was longing for. I’d forgotten about her departure in the darkness of my nightly slumber, but her absence prevented me from truly feeling the morning sun on my skin once I woke. Even that golden light felt muted and incapable of lighting any flame.

I’d tried to keep my emotions hidden from the little ones. They weren’t even here anyway; instead of being within their needy embrace, I was randomly sat in a random room with random-arse Prince Blueblood. It was just my luck; if there was ever a pony who could help ease this emotional burden, it was surely him.

And he’d started off strong. The room we were in wasn’t exactly large, but the prince mockingly grinned at me from the other side of it, making me feel as if he was miles away. “I cannot believe what kind of show you put on last night- and to Globe Trot, no less,” he had declared with his typical sardonic sheen.

I balled my right hand into a fist while the prince laid out his declaration. Luckily for both of us, I was too spent to even stand up, let alone actually swing at the guy, so I kept my head down. “How was I supposed to know that he was so important?” I questioned the prince, who sat himself further upright in the corner of my downturned vision.

“Because he was part of the Gala. They don’t just let anypony in there, you know.”

I snuck a quick peak at Blueblood as he gave his reasoning. As expected, he was as smug as can be, having decided to recline into his seat in a demonstration of the decadent royal that he was always doomed to be. Sadly though, he was the only pony in which I could confide. “How did all that happen last night?”

The prince took a moment, utilising the silence in an attempt to get me to raise my head. Once I did, he soon replied, “Because you’re violent, witless and you trade a conscience for bloodlust.”

“Yeah, how about you go fuck yourself? No one else around here will,” I immediately fired back. Despite the speed of my retort, there was no enthusiasm or quick wit involved, and my voice sunk to the floor moments before it reached the prince, my bitter protestations lifelessly pooling at his hooves.

From Blueblood’s reaction, it seemed that my own was disappointing to him. He said nothing, and the expression he chose to display was impossible for me to read. “You’re supposed to say, ‘I’m joking’ after something like that,” I commented to break the silence, only to find no reprieve once my coaxing ebbed away to nothing more than faint echoes. “…I don’t even remember doing it.”

“That’ll be the alcohol.”

Such a lacklustre summary was irritating to me. In truth, I hated it far more when the prince sat on the fence, and in the short time I’d known him, he regularly seemed reluctant to do so. If this was his version of a ‘softer side’, then he may even like me at this point.

“There must be something in the water around here,” I concluded with a large sigh, not that it contributed to anything. Realistically, I was just afraid of any more silence, given how suffocating those periods have been recently. Then again, my attempts at jovial conversation haven’t exactly been stellar either.

And all of this waiting wasn’t for my benefit. Rather than going on about my day in peace, I was forced to sit here and wait for Celestia to show up so that she could demonstrate how much of a bad little boy I’d been. Don’t look too heavily into that.

So, here we are. Blueblood wasn’t looking any less smug, though he hadn’t gone in on me as much as I’d expected. Actually, he hadn’t even moved, such was his relaxed nature at that moment. He must’ve felt very comfy in his little ivory tower.

“My advice next time would be to hit him harder. He deserves as much after last month’s summit,” the prince informed me, having suddenly taken extra interest in the conversation. It appeared that these two had history, and Blueblood must’ve been weak at the knees just thinking about that stallion’s nose being broken in three places.

I’ll admit: his enthusiasm was interesting to me. “And you think I’m going to do it again?” I bluntly enquired, although this appeared to douse the flames of violence rather than fan them.

“I would recommend against being so brash. You would have more to answer for if it weren’t for Celestia and I.”

This confused me. I hadn’t seen Blueblood at all last night, and he struck me as a stallion who was averse to doing anything without being at the centre of proceedings. “Then, what’s Celestia done about all this?”

“She’s the reason why you’re here today,” the prince succinctly answered, quickly losing his outward composure.

“And what the fuck have you done about it?”

“Enough.”

It seemed that I’d hit a nerve, demonstrated by Blueblood getting out of his seat and moving closer to me. Granted, all he did upon reaching his destination was sit his fat arse back down, but it was still something worth mentioning. To be honest, I couldn’t tell if the prince’s reply was him curtly answering my question or just telling me to shut up.

I had my suspicions that this was the case, yet it only took one amused scoff to reset the prince back to a more jovial setting. “You know that Aunty Tia will still give you a public dressing down for this,” he happily mentioned, as if I wasn’t perfectly aware of this inevitability.

“Better a public humiliation than a public execution. I’m sure you’ve done worse.”

“There may well have been an execution- if not for your marefriend last night,” the prince continued as he prattled on, surely aware of my disengagement from the conversation. “From the way you carry yourself, I imagine that you two aren’t on good terms?”

Whether he’d intended it or not- and on the basis of everything we know so far, he likely did- Blueblood’s discussion of a certain someone wore me down much more than I was expecting. So much so, that my eyes went back to being glued to the floor as I felt the urge to seep through the cracks between the tiles.

“Did you talk at all last night?” Blueblood continued, noticeably intrigued by my sustained silence. In the corner of my eye, I watched him examine my sorry state, before sitting back for the umpteenth time. “You really do deny her the opportunity of wading through the mud with you.”

I tried to see the brighter side of the prince’s comments. Honestly, I did. But this was too soon, and I subconsciously shifted everything down a more negative path. “Oh yeah. Let me get a moral lecture from Count Unspectacular: the sex-fiend-turned-user-and-abuser.”

“I’m not the one who exhibited a moral failing in the middle of the castle ballroom,” Blueblood coldly reminded me, having rediscovered some of the edge in his voice. Again, I probably should’ve seen this as a sign to stay away from the insults, but I found myself unable to stop.

“Yeah, your personality lights up any room once you walk out of it; I was bringing some sense of urgency to you rich arseholes…”

With this, I swung my arms in front of me and used the momentum from it to force myself to my feet. Having reached my limit with sitting around, I lethargically slumped over to the door and pressed my face against it. Unfortunately, there was even less comfort to be found there, so I slid down the wooden surface until I felt my knees touch the floor.

Once I’d reestablished myself as part of the floorboards, I heard Blueblood saunter over until he set himself down in the seat that I’d just occupied. Granted, I hadn’t moved very far, so this was likely just him closing the gap. Nevertheless, he had a lot to say.

“Just for one moment, throw away your assumptions about class or wealth or appearance. Cast aside all of those stereotypes that you’re using as a replacement for genuine dialogue and fucking talk to me like I mean something to you.”

I unenthusiastically glanced over my shoulder in light of Blueblood’s outburst. Naturally, I was unimpressed, but there was something more to his voice than there was usually. Perhaps. A quick scan of his face confirmed to me that this was the case, and that frown only increased as he carried on.

“Yes: I admit that I haven’t presented myself in the best light recently, but can you honestly say that the inverse is true for yourself? The way you came into this world doesn’t matter; you have been trusted by the princesses to do your duty, and yet, here you are throwing arrows and accusations at anypony who dares come too close. From that perspective, you’re far worse than I am.”

My immediate answer to this was a laboured sigh. When it’s convenient, I hate the ‘glass houses’ argument, so I fought the urge to scoff at the prince just as he’d done to me. Given everything that had happened in the last twelve hours, much of my energy was devoted to staying awake.

“You have no cynical comeback at-the-ready. This is progress,” Blueblood announced, loud enough to keep me awake for a little while longer.

Despite this apparent character progression, I was at a loss. “Well, what do I do then?”

“You take your punishment like a good colt and then you disappear for a few days,” the prince bluntly replied, as if the answer was slightly too obvious. “And take those two with you- they may as well see the sights.”

I chuckled slightly at this. “Well, if we compare our actual time in this place, I’m not that much more experienced with the world than they are,” I mused, having tuned the slovenly prince out of my conversation with myself.

Yet, this was never to be tolerated by Blueblood. “And with the same amount of emotional intelligence to-boot,” he cynically added. I glared at him for a moment, but the whole thing really wasn’t worth the energy.

“And now you’re silent once more. I swear, if humans couldn’t speak, then there’s a chance that you’d be the smartest human in Equestria.”

Celestia gave me a chewing- in front of an eager crowd, no less. She’d made a good show of it too, getting all fired up like that with accusations of besmirchment and whatever. She could’ve smiled less, though- it kinda took me out of the whole performance.

I was just happy that the little ones weren’t there to witness it. No, they’d been left to their own devices- which I really didn’t like, but I didn’t have much of a choice. There was little else that could be done without Twilight around, and I didn’t trust anybody else to be with them during the short time that I was gone.

But we’re all back where we should be- all safe and sound. Even before I’d re-entered the bedroom, miniature voices made themselves known to me, clearly excited about some unseen prize or treasure that had been recently discovered.

Upon entering, it was obvious as to what was the target of the girls’ enthusiasm: the white bag that Discord had left me with last night was on the floor, and its contents had been removed. More importantly, the two teddy bears previously within the bag seemed to be quite popular, as they were both being cradled by the pair of miscreants.

Instantly, my arrival was detected. “Mr. Bayard- look, look!” Eve proclaimed, charging into me and forcing one of the bears into my face. “Dale!”

What a bizarre name. “Dale?”

“Dale!” the little girl resoundingly confirmed with a small jump. “While you were gone, we looked in your bag-”

“-Which you shouldn’t’ve.”

“Which we shouldn’t’ve!” she repeated back to me in an instant, never losing her chipper attitude despite the slight admonishment. “And…an-an-and…”

It was clear that the little girl wanted to say a lot more than she did, but, given her level of excitement, speech was no longer the most efficient method of communication for her. Instead, she wordlessly thrust the bear into my face for a second time, which I accepted, hoping to give the girl’s mind some breathing room. “And you know this little guy?”

“He’s my best-friend-teddy-bear! How did you find him?”

“I…”

Now, this was a conundrum. I’d imagined that there were more convenient ways of explaining how I’d ‘found’ those bears rather than actually going through the night’s events, so something agreeable was probably best. “You know me- I never let you down,” I concluded, perhaps only sounding so smug in order to maintain a half-hearted attempt at being convincing. Discord, you dirty dog.

“An-a-a-an…”

I was brought away from my faux-self-assuredness by the sound of Eve’s words deserting her. Anyone looking upon her could easily discern just how hard she was trying to force her mind and her mouth to cooperate. The emergence of a pink tinge on her cheeks was the final straw for me, however, so I hoisted her up to inspect her further.

“Breathe, littlun,” I softly reminded my cargo before shifting my attention to the one in the background. “Ooh, and Eva- I see that you’ve got one of your own! Please take it out of your mouth, though; we don’t know where it’s been.”

With my free arm, I reached down and removed the second bear from Eva’s mouth and actively examined the one-eyed bundle of fluff. It wasn’t too dissimilar to the little ones in a way- ignoring the number of eyes: they were a little bit rough and unkempt, yet there was still a lot of love in there.

I would’ve liked to have remained so on-the-nose, but a pair of flailing arms preventing my thoughts from stretching any further. In any other circumstance, my reaction may’ve been more urgent, yet Eva’s stubby arms would never have been able to reach up to me anyway.

Still, it was clear what she wanted, so the bear was soon back within her control. She let out a loud hum of enjoyment when she could feel the fuzz again, so I wanted to keep that positivity train rolling. “I’m sure he’s got a name too, does- out your mouth, sweetie!”

Again, the bear was soon mine; I took special care to keep away from the obvious moisture on its left leg. Apart from that part, it seemed clean, but travelling between worlds was likely dirty business, so I felt justified in removing the thing once more- in spite of the distressed cries that I was receiving.

Eva was clearly upset by this, and I didn’t really know what to do next, so I took her sorrowful gaze as evidence enough that she’d adequately repented. Resultingly, the sodden bear was given back to its rightful owner, who gave me the answer I was longing for:

“Winter.”

“Well, Winter doesn’t want you sucking on his leg,” I calmly explained.

“She always does that,” Eve flatly informed me from her perch, thankfully not replicating her sister’s actions. I guess it was something- but my arms were getting tired.

“Look, we…” I began while placing Eve back onto the floor. “…Are going to Twilight’s parents’ house, and then-”

“-Why?”

“Because I need to ask some questions. But then…we’re going to the beach.”

My announcement proved to be very appealing to the duo, as a resulting screech of excitement filled the room. Granted, I would’ve been concerned by such a noise if I was listening in from another room, but it was all in good fun. I would’ve even allowed all the excited jumping about, had I not had a little bit more to say.

“Hey, hey, hey! But…only if we’re good at Twilight’s parents’ house. We go there, we come back, and then we go to the beach tomorrow- just so we have time to pack. Do we understand?”

I wasn’t expecting the best behaviour from the girls in the wake of their forthcoming excitement. In an upturn in fortune, however, I was delightfully surprised as they scampered back over to make themselves known, frantically nodding away in an apparent understanding. It was a sight that left me misty-eyed. I was so proud.

“Very quiet. I knew you two would get it.”

One final thing then. Frankly, the girls and I were ready to head out of town, but I needed something else first. As previously stated, I wanted to know what Twilight’s parents felt about all this- and perhaps if they were even willing to see me at all. There were a couple of loose ends there, after all.

Luckily for me, I had the memory of Twilight sniffing out her parents’ house burned into my psyche, so navigating there wasn’t too arduous. And so, with a couple of hardy smacks on Twilight’s mother’s front door, we were quickly in business as Mrs. Velvet soon appeared.

“Now, this is a surprise! I didn’t expect you to be back so soon,” the mare in question exclaimed, having far more pep in her step than I’d anticipated. I obviously couldn’t match it.

“Hi, Mrs. Velvet. I uh…can I come in for a quick chat?”

It brought me a great deal of shame to look upon the mare. Granted, I- hopefully- hadn’t disgraced the Sparkle family name (if there was one), but…I just cared about them, okay? You’re supposed to do that, aren’t you?

“Of course! How are things?”

And it was too late to back out now. The back-and-forth was underway- and the little ones were shuffling closer and closer to the door with every passing moment. “Yeah, I’ve just got a lot to think about,” I quietly answered, still failing to look anyone in the eye.

“No use doing it alone! Make yourself at home.”

Without missing a beat, Mrs. Velvet threw open her front door and ushered me inside. True to form, the girls lacked the need for such an invitation; they were already making themselves comfortable next to a selection of cushions in the corner by the time I was with them. I’d brought the bears, and the girls were happy to play with them, having helped themselves to a selection of cups and saucers in anticipation of a make-believe tea party.

I could feel my heartrate increase upon entering this somewhat familiar place. This was for nothing of course; the room was quiet in the absence of any extended family, and it should’ve been welcoming to me. I admired its simplicity, and the way it reminded me of the times when I used to visit my grandparents, but I wasn’t going to tell Mrs. Velvet that.

Speaking of which, the mare was waiting for me on the sofa with two cups of tea nearby; I pieced together that the second one was mine. “I’m surprised that you let me in,” I dully commented to her as I took my place at her side, only to be met with a blank expression that suggested that ‘pity’ was the wrong emotion to lead with. “Look, I’m sorry about last night…everything- all of it.”

My apology was met with the quiet sound of slurping as Mrs. Velvet slowly lay waste to her beverage. I decided to do the same as she replied, “The night got the best of all of us, dear. You weren’t the only pony to make some bad choices.”

Perhaps to reflect the mood, she sounded similarly subdued. It was strange to see her in this light, yet there was something else to her voice: that all-knowing, motherly charm, for lack of a better phrase. It brought me to immediate ease, although it also made my heart dully beat for the longing for my own mother.

From both this inner turmoil and the sense of shame that I just couldn’t shake, I kept my mouth shut. The tea was particularly handy in giving my mouth something to do while I processed things. Honestly, Mrs. Velvet’s ability to handwave (or the pony equivalent) such an ordeal was…I suppose the word ‘convenient’ would spring to mind, as it has done a few times now.

I was so preoccupied that I didn’t notice Night Light’s appearance. It was his voice that brought me back. “We didn’t see the incident in question,” the stallion thankfully noted, sinking into a chair just opposite from me. “But all of Canterlot knows of it now.”

“Yeah…”

I don’t know what I’d expected, but this felt like one of the worst-case scenarios. Given this, I was surprised that I hadn’t been confronted about it on the way here, but I was likely so tunnel visioned that I probably wouldn’t have even noticed.

“Aww, don’t feel too bad. Ponies get hurt sometimes- and you did it for your foal,” Mrs. Velvet reminded me while rubbing a hoof over my shoulder. The mention of Eve caused me to glance over at the little one, who gave me an eager grin and a wave before returning to her activity.

“Where’s your trademark bite? I miss it already.”

I was brought back to Mrs. Velvet in the wake of her remark. Turning back to her, I noticed that she was much closer than before, and the small signs of age on her face made her frown appear much more purposeful. “My ‘trademark bite’ caused me a bit of grief last night, after the whole ballroom thing,” I replied- only because I felt like I had to.

Having said my piece, I returned to my cup and saucer. There were only so many times that I could do this before I ran out tea, but the start is always harder than the end. At least it gave me the opportunity to wordlessly focus on Mrs. Velvet, as the realisation over what I’d said slowly dawned on her. “That explains why you’re here.”

“What did you say?” Night Light softly asked me. His question was far from an accusation, and the levelheadedness that both ponies displayed told me that they were in a much better state than I was.

“I didn’t say a lot, but I definitely gave off the impression that I’m uncaring about what she’s doing. What hurts is that she didn’t even do anything back; she just left.”

Despite how negative I was feeling, the pair of parents listened along, seemingly more relaxed. “That’s our babba. She’s never liked conflict,” Night Light proudly declared with a comforted smile, and my lips felt the urge to make the same shape.

“Just give her time to warm up again. She’ll come back to you,” Mrs. Velvet warmly explained while resuming her stroking of my shoulder.

The pampering brought me limited comfort, but I still felt somewhat underwhelmed with this closure. It was ironic in that sense: even here, I felt as if I hadn’t said enough. “But any anger towards me would’ve been easier to analyse,” I mumbled to myself. Despite its volume, Mrs. Velvet clearly heard it, as she let out a laugh that could only be made after years of experience.

“Oh, she’ll lose her rag with you someday, hun. All mares do it.”

The mare’s positivity was infectious; such simple words did wonders for coaxing me out. “Isn’t there anything I can do in the meantime?” I quickly asked, hoping for some sort of push in the right direction.

“Keep thinking of her, and think about what you’ll say when you see her again. I’ll bet my last bit that she’s thinking the same thing,” Night Light reassured me; I could imagine him with one of those old smoking pipes whenever he said stuff like that.

His answer was helpful in calming me down. Even so, I was still low, given how Twilight wasn’t actually here. “I really wanted to see her before I left. I had more hope than expectation that she’d be with you,” I concluded with a sigh.

My comment seemed to intrigue Night Light. “You’re leaving?”

“Not for good. Princess Celestia knows I’m at my wit’s end, so she’s given me the week off. She’s probably hoping that I just disappear.”

Further interest was aroused at this, shown by Mrs. Velvet reestablishing herself in the conversation. “Do you have anywhere in mind?” she enquired, having finally left my shoulder alone.

“Flankerton Beach. I hear it’s lovely this time of year,” I answered simply.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Be sure to carry some sunscreen!”

The mare clapped her forehooves together in a juvenile expression of excitement as she sang her reply. As one parent showed jubilation on my behalf, Night Light remained more grounded, offering, “It should be quiet, too- if that’s important to you.”

It most certainly was. I could think of nothing worse than being on display for passers-by after what’d just transpired. In a slightly backwards sort of thinking, I needed an opportunity to pretend that these ponies weren’t even here, as much as I liked a select few of them.

“I really have been miserable for a while now, and we’re all feeling it,” I admitted before pointing to the teddy bears’ picnic in the corner. “Those two aren’t getting anything from this, being locked away as they are. They need to get out- and so do I. We’ll all be better for it.”

“I hope you find what you’re looking for,” Night Light softly yet resoundingly stated, looking me in the eyes with an intensity that I wasn’t accustomed to experiencing.

This was only for a moment, thankfully, as Mrs. Velvet fulfilled what must’ve been a daily tradition of groping her husband. “Don’t be so serious!” she playfully chastised the…poor stallion before pointing one of her tainted hooves back at me. “Just have fun, mister- forget about all this mess!”

The prevailing feeling that I had at that moment was that now was the time to go. “Thank you. I really do appreciate it,” I warmly stated to the couple, who dropped whatever they were doing in preparation of seeing me off. “I should probably go pack.”

I turned away from the married couple and focused on the little ones as they continued to play. There were so many words to use to describe the activity: complex, imaginative- maybe even compassionate- yet also temporary. I’d need to think of a way of telling them that they couldn’t do that all the time for much longer.

But not before a pair of hooves were gently shoved into my lower back. “Make haste, young man! And don’t fret about Twily; she’ll be begging for you to come home early,” Mrs. Velvet reassured me as she pushed me forwards.

Naturally, I found difficulty in carrying on a conversation like this, so I span around to meet the mare head-on. Granted, this caused her to fall forwards, but I was quick enough to stop her descent and support her until she found her balance. “I…would really like that. I’m sure that I’ll have it all figured out by the time I get back.”

And with the in-laws dealt with, I could finally get back to business. “You two: we’re going! Leave your tea and bring your bears!” I announced to the little ones, who immediately perked their heads up and sprang into life. “Thanks for just letting them play about,” I told Mrs. Velvet as the duo got themselves ready behind me.

The mare’s immediately reply was to lean against me and follow my gaze until my little ones were within her vision. “You forget that we had foals in here once. Sometimes you need all the help you can get,” she reminded me, sounding slightly wistful. I guess it’s never easy for the baby birds to leave the nest.

“I just want you to know how much I appreciate it. Twilight is lucky to have you two,” I reaffirmed as I fought the urge to stroke along the mare’s neck. Luckily, I wasn’t given much of a chance; I felt her leave my side soon after as she smirked up at me.

“You charmer! Now, go on- get your chubby keister outta here and into the sunshine!”

She led us to the door, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to check that the girls and I hadn’t inexplicably gotten lost along the way. Once she was at her destination, she waited for us all to catch up, with Night Light bringing up the rear.

At this time, I was ready to leave, and had already made many of my ‘goodbye’s. However, Eve had other ideas, as she awkwardly shuffled over to Mrs. Velvet to offer some gratitude of her own. “Thank you, Miss…” she began before faltering, likely not knowing where to go from there.

Luckily, the one she was addressing let out a little giggle before lightly rubbing the top of the girl’s head. “The pleasure’s all mine, cutie pie- and look at those pretty eyes!”

As she spoke, she tilted Eve’s head up so that their gazes could connect for what was likely the first time. “Why, they look just like your daddy’s!”

I swallowed hard after hearing this. It must’ve been audible too, as Eva looked up at me inquisitively before offering me her hand. “Let’s…let’s go, girls,” I hesitantly remarked, not wanting to hear myself speak, yet also unwilling to allow any more silence to settle around me.

Still, this was it. I’d finally said the last of my goodbyes to Twilight’s parents before heading back to the castle. I’d kept the girls close- and they hadn’t destroyed anything- so the day had been marginally successful. Things were surely looking better now.

“So, what do we do now?” Eve asked me after a short while. She stood furthest from me, being the outer layer of an Eva sandwich, but I surely felt whenever she brought our convoy to a halt.

However, there was no need for her to do so; the plan hadn’t changed. “I told you: we’re going to pack before going on our holiday,” I reminded her.

“For the beach?”

“For the beach.”

Having obviously felt a great deal of joy from my answer, the little girl broke away from our chain and looked up at me. Stood on her tiptoes, she firmly pointed to the ground, and I followed the gesture until our heads were level, fully aware of what she was likely asking for.

Sure enough, she planted a minute kiss on my left cheek- after which she recoiled away before warily watching me from a slight distance. Considering what I knew about the little girl, I slowly extended my arm outwards, creating a small nook in which she could seek refuge.

Sobbing followed this. A happy sobbing, I hope. I didn’t notice any other triggers, and I was perfectly happy to wait it out and see what the forlorn girl did next. “I guess this is a lot for you to understand,” I whispered to her, unsure if she could hear me over her own cries.

Sometime during this, I became aware of a curly-haired lump making her away onto my shoulders. I gave everyone time to settle before suddenly grabbing my shoulder-bound intruder by the arms and flipping her so that her face hung at the same level as mine, albeit upside down.

“And what’s up with you?!” I addressed Eva as she hung there. Given what I also knew about her, I was concerned about her possible reaction, but I was delighted to hear a laugh that I had seldom come across. With closed eyes, the previously-timid girl giggled and squealed away, beside herself with joy as she swung around in my grip.

Obviously, no answer came from her- but I didn’t need it. I was soon able to return her to her vantage point before coaxing back Eve into the fray. “You’ll get your sleeve wet if you do that much more. Let’s go back, littluns,” I offered, giving the girl another opportunity to hold my hand again.

The offer was too enticing to resist. It was a great deal more appealing than expected, as she lunged at it and attempted to use it as leverage to access my torso. Sadly, I had to shut this down, but the little girl didn’t seem too averse to simply playing with my fingers.

“I wish I had more space for you, kiddo. I’d carry you both back home if I could.”