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Description

  Andre scanned the rug, looking for any signs of trouble. Whimsy was reading a book about how plants and flowers grow, as spring was just around the corner. There were some wiggles, some kids playing with the laces on their shoes or their hair, some holding hands with their shoulder buddy, some sucking on their sleeves or the collars of their shirts, but the students were otherwise engaged with the story. Mellilla caught his attention and made the sign for "restroom," and he replied with a thumbs-up. She slipped away quietly, so as not to disrupt the story. Andre allowed himself to relax, slouching up against the wall. When one works with young children, moments of calm were to be cherished.

Then Noha stood up. Andre straightened up. The boy walked away from the rug. Okay, he's not looking to fight anyone. Restroom break, maybe?

BLAM!

"Noha!" Whimsy set down the book and made a beeline for the boy as he began to trash the room. Andre fought the urge to tag in, but it was agreed in an earlier discussion that when Noha got dangerous or destructive, there needed to be at least one adult to act as damage control; making sure the other students don't get mixed into the madness. Thank goodness that everyone was already gathered on the rug.

"Noha, come here! NOHA!" Whimsy tried to chase the lad around the room. Andre was honestly impressed with how xe dodged the toys and tools Noha was throwing that were obviously meant to trip xem up. Finally, xe had him cornered. "OW! NOHA!" The lad had sunk his teeth into Whimsy's outstretched arm.

"Danni, no!" Andre tried to snatch the lass, but she slipped out of his reach. She ran over to Noha and yanked his tail, forcing him to open his jaw to release their teacher. If it ended at that, it wouldn't have been a terrible issue, but Danni wasn't done with him. She wrestled him down to the ground easier than Andre would have expected. He'd never seen her play rough with the other kids, but... she actually seemed to know what she was doing with Noha. She blocked and dodged his blows before pushing him down and pinning him there.

"THIS IS WHY YOUR MOTHER DOESN'T LOVE YOU!" YOUNG LADY?! Yes, Danni said things that most kids wouldn't say, but that was a loaded insult for a 6-year-old to be saying. Noha didn't seem to care; he just laughed as he tried to wrestle her off. "IT'S NOT FUNNY! OW!" Noha sunk his teeth into her arm. Danni smacked his forehead, and he released.

Mellilla returned, and Andre wordlessly tagged into the tussle. Whimsy grabbed Danni from behind and wrapped her arms around like a straight-jacket, while Andre grabbed Noha and carried him to the front office for Mr. Samson to deal with.

Now, Whimsy has only ever had to restrain Danni once (during the field trip to the museum), so xe expected a bit of a struggle. What xe did NOT expect was what Danni cried out.

   "No, Mama! NO! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!" Danni wriggled free and ran to a corner, her face several shades paler, tears pouring from her eyes. She was facing the floor, gripping her wrist, trembling as if she were caught in the middle of a snow storm.

An awkward stillness settled in the room. "Alright, everyone," Mellilla took charge with a cheerful little clap. "Let's line up so we can go to recess. Missir Whimsy and Danni will join us when they are ready." The promise of free play was enough to distract everyone from the drama that had just unfolded, but there were still concerned glances being cast back at Danni and Whimsy. "And I'll ask Nurse Snakefruit to come and check on you both," she added in a softer voice.

"Thank you," Whimsy nodded. Soon, it was just xem and Danni, alone in the room. What do I do? When Danni was having a breakdown from the lightning flash, holding her seemed to ground her enough to calm her down. Right now, she seemed absolutely terrified, muttering under her breath: "...too cold... too cold..." What was perhaps most unusual was the way she was still gripping her wrist; that's not where Noha had bitten her.

Why would her wrist be cold? It's not likely that she suddenly lost circulation or feeling right there. Then Whimsy remembered that there are some nonhumans who have an affinity for ice magic; they usually don't need a wand to cast any spells. And Danni said "Mama,"... Maybe her mother had an affinity for ice magic, and she would use her powers as a form of punishment? I hate having to pry, but I'm going to have some questions for Dr. Marker. That, combined with the fact that Danni actually seemed to know what she was doing when fighting Noha, and not just randomly throwing punches and kicks, how she calls herself a "delinquent," and "not a proper daughter,"... Something else was going on before Danni was placed in her grandmother's custody.

"Missir Whimsy," Nurse Snakefruit gently intruded on xeir thoughts, holding a first-aid kit. "How bad is it?" Whimsy wordlessly showed the bite mark to the woman around xeir wrist. By then, the indents from Noha's teeth had honestly faded away, and all that remained was slight pink marks and his saliva. Honestly, xe was lucky he hadn't gotten on the more fleshy parts of xeir arm. "And Danni?"

"I don't know. I haven't figured out how I'm supposed to talk her down. She's never acted like this before," Whimsy admitted softly. Then, xe directed xeir attention to Danni. "Hey, Danni--"

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" Danni immediately started screaming, swinging her arms around wildly and stomping her feet, still gripping her wrist.

"Danni, you're not in trouble, sweetie." Whimsy tried to reassure her. "I know that you were just trying to protect me."

"That's right," Nurse Snakefruit chimed in, holding a bottle of disinfecting spray and gauze in her hands and crouching down to Danni's level. "I just need to look at the spot where Noha bit you."

"...too cold...too cold..."

Nurse Snakefruit took a chance and slowly crawled on her knees towards Danni. "My hands aren't cold, I promise. Feel them." Danni flinched, but instantly settled when the woman gently grasped her hand. Danni finally looked her in the eyes, appearing almost confused. "You see? My hands are warm, right?" The lass gave a very slow nod, her body slowly relaxing to the nurse's touch. "Can I look at the spot where Noha bit you?" It took Danni a moment to process, but she eventually pulled back her sleeve. "Oh, that's good." It seemed Noha had gotten mostly fabric, because by then, the bite mark only looked like a slight pinch on her skin. "There we go. That's all I needed. Thank you, sugar-booger. I'll see you later, okay?"

"...okay." With that, the nurse returned to her office.

"Danni, can I talk to you for a minute? You aren't in trouble." Whimsy pulled up a chair so xe could be eye-level with Danni. Xe gently took the girl's hands; Danni avoided eye contact, but didn't fight back. "Who are the ones in charge?"

"...you."

"Me, and Mx. Beehive, and Mr. Andre. I heard Mr. Andre tell you 'no,' when you ran over to me and Noha, and you didn't listen." Xe gave her a moment to process that. "I'm not going to punish you, but I AM going to ask you to do better. Our job as teachers is to make sure you all are safe, and your job as a student is to make safe choices. When someone isn't making a safe choice, WE will handle it, because we don't want anyone else to get hurt."

"...I don't want you to get hurt either," Danni lightly argued, tears bubbling in her eyes again.

"I know, but I'm an adult. I can handle myself." This next question may be a little complicated, but Whimsy was willing to give Danni the benefit of a doubt. "Can you tell me why you were crying for your mom earlier?"

Danni tapped her shoe a few times, no longer crying but still avoiding eye contact. "Mama got mad because I breaked my cousin's nose, and Mama's hand was really cold."

"Why did you break your cousin's nose?" Whimsy couldn't help but be impressed by the inflicted damage, but xe was careful to hide it and treat the subject seriously.

"He was always hitting me, and Mama and Papa tell me to just ignore it. Then he pushed a bookcase on me, and I breaked his nose."

Way to blame the victim, Whimsy thought. Of course, violence was "wrong," but there were times Whimsy felt it was appropriate, especially at this age. Children this young don't know how to talk through their differences, and if they feel like they can get away with something, they will absolutely do it. If Whimsy were Danni's mother, then xe probably would have joined in and tore the kid's parents a new asshole; familial ties be damned. How do I say this without talking shit about your parents?

"Thank you for telling me. It helps me understand you better... Do you want to go outside and play, or do you want to stay in here and relax? I don't mind staying with you in the room."

"I want to play."

"Okay." Whimsy took Danni's hand, and the two made their way to the outdoor playground.

***

"Don't do it..." Andre muttered under his breath. Whimsy and Danni had joined the rest of the class outside, and Naomi definitely noticed. Once Danni was alone, the little cyclops ran over to her with a smirk on her face.

"You STU--!" Before Naomi could even finish her taunting remark, Danni shoved her to the ground.

"SHUT UP, NAOMI!" Danni bellowed. "You can't even talk right!"

Very well executed, Andre nodded approvingly. That backlash was long overdue, if he were being honest. Naomi immediately started wailing and ran over to the closest adult, which happened to be Mellilla, but the woman sternly told Naomi that she wasn't getting a hug after making a bad choice and hurting Danni's feelings. Naomi searched for sympathy elsewhere, but all the adults were on the same page, and none offered her a gentle embrace. She made her way over to Andre, but he was just as steadfast as the others. However, he DID offer for her to sit down beside him while she calmed down.

Now, Naomi HAS gotten more vocal over the last few months, and she had some interesting remarks in her self-imposed time-out by Andre's feet. "Ye mean, Missir Ahnd'e! Ye mean 'cause ye BAD! Ye b'eakin' mah heart! Ye make mah heart sad!"

***

"Dr. Marker, if I could have a moment of your time..." Whimsy requested when the man came to pick up Danni from school at the end of the day. Keeping Noha's name out of it, xe explained the incident that occurred in the classroom, and what Danni had said during their conversation. The man's expression shifted from attentive to dismayed; he knew what Danni was referring to.

He sighed before offering an explanation. "Danni's parents loved her very much. However, the family as a whole had their issues, and the home was chaotic."

"Ohhh..." It all made sense; why Danni seemed to have mixed feelings about her own parents. In Whimsy's case, it was easy for xem to hate xeir mother; the woman did only the absolute minimum to keep Whimsy from dying, only to avoid being sent to jail. Xeir father... the feelings were more muddled than that. He didn't HATE Whimsy. Xe was a consequence that he didn't want to take responsibility for. He took care of xem because it was expected of him. The fact of the matter was, the two haven't spoken in years, and Whimsy intended to keep it that way, since he obviously didn't prioritize xeir feelings.

It's hard, coming to terms with the fact that one's parents just... aren't good at parenting.

  Danni described a "proper daughter," as one being born AFTER the parents are married, so she knows that she was born out of wedlock. Depending on the family's circumstances, maybe her parents didn't have a lot of resources, so they had to rely on less-than-loving relatives for support? This may be a bit of a stretch, but if Danni was regularly being bullied by her cousin and her parents told her to just ignore it, maybe they were just trying not to rock the boat, and therefore lose what resources that the relatives offered them. It would explain why Danni was particularly uneasy in unfamiliar situations and took longer than most to come out of her shell.

"Thank you for all the work that you do," Dr. Marker bowed his head. "I will be sure to stress to Danni the importance of following her teachers' instruction."

"We already discussed it, so that's not necessary," Whimsy assured him. "Regardless, all the best, Dr. Marker."

"All the best."

Description

  Andre scanned the rug, looking for any signs of trouble. Whimsy was reading a book about how plants and flowers grow, as spring was just around the corner. There were some wiggles, some kids playing with the laces on their shoes or their hair, some holding hands with their shoulder buddy, some sucking on their sleeves or the collars of their shirts, but the students were otherwise engaged with the story. Mellilla caught his attention and made the sign for "restroom," and he replied with a thumbs-up. She slipped away quietly, so as not to disrupt the story. Andre allowed himself to relax, slouching up against the wall. When one works with young children, moments of calm were to be cherished.

Then Noha stood up. Andre straightened up. The boy walked away from the rug. Okay, he's not looking to fight anyone. Restroom break, maybe?

BLAM!

"Noha!" Whimsy set down the book and made a beeline for the boy as he began to trash the room. Andre fought the urge to tag in, but it was agreed in an earlier discussion that when Noha got dangerous or destructive, there needed to be at least one adult to act as damage control; making sure the other students don't get mixed into the madness. Thank goodness that everyone was already gathered on the rug.

"Noha, come here! NOHA!" Whimsy tried to chase the lad around the room. Andre was honestly impressed with how xe dodged the toys and tools Noha was throwing that were obviously meant to trip xem up. Finally, xe had him cornered. "OW! NOHA!" The lad had sunk his teeth into Whimsy's outstretched arm.

"Danni, no!" Andre tried to snatch the lass, but she slipped out of his reach. She ran over to Noha and yanked his tail, forcing him to open his jaw to release their teacher. If it ended at that, it wouldn't have been a terrible issue, but Danni wasn't done with him. She wrestled him down to the ground easier than Andre would have expected. He'd never seen her play rough with the other kids, but... she actually seemed to know what she was doing with Noha. She blocked and dodged his blows before pushing him down and pinning him there.

"THIS IS WHY YOUR MOTHER DOESN'T LOVE YOU!" YOUNG LADY?! Yes, Danni said things that most kids wouldn't say, but that was a loaded insult for a 6-year-old to be saying. Noha didn't seem to care; he just laughed as he tried to wrestle her off. "IT'S NOT FUNNY! OW!" Noha sunk his teeth into her arm. Danni smacked his forehead, and he released.

Mellilla returned, and Andre wordlessly tagged into the tussle. Whimsy grabbed Danni from behind and wrapped her arms around like a straight-jacket, while Andre grabbed Noha and carried him to the front office for Mr. Samson to deal with.

Now, Whimsy has only ever had to restrain Danni once (during the field trip to the museum), so xe expected a bit of a struggle. What xe did NOT expect was what Danni cried out.

   "No, Mama! NO! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!" Danni wriggled free and ran to a corner, her face several shades paler, tears pouring from her eyes. She was facing the floor, gripping her wrist, trembling as if she were caught in the middle of a snow storm.

An awkward stillness settled in the room. "Alright, everyone," Mellilla took charge with a cheerful little clap. "Let's line up so we can go to recess. Missir Whimsy and Danni will join us when they are ready." The promise of free play was enough to distract everyone from the drama that had just unfolded, but there were still concerned glances being cast back at Danni and Whimsy. "And I'll ask Nurse Snakefruit to come and check on you both," she added in a softer voice.

"Thank you," Whimsy nodded. Soon, it was just xem and Danni, alone in the room. What do I do? When Danni was having a breakdown from the lightning flash, holding her seemed to ground her enough to calm her down. Right now, she seemed absolutely terrified, muttering under her breath: "...too cold... too cold..." What was perhaps most unusual was the way she was still gripping her wrist; that's not where Noha had bitten her.

Why would her wrist be cold? It's not likely that she suddenly lost circulation or feeling right there. Then Whimsy remembered that there are some nonhumans who have an affinity for ice magic; they usually don't need a wand to cast any spells. And Danni said "Mama,"... Maybe her mother had an affinity for ice magic, and she would use her powers as a form of punishment? I hate having to pry, but I'm going to have some questions for Dr. Marker. That, combined with the fact that Danni actually seemed to know what she was doing when fighting Noha, and not just randomly throwing punches and kicks, how she calls herself a "delinquent," and "not a proper daughter,"... Something else was going on before Danni was placed in her grandmother's custody.

"Missir Whimsy," Nurse Snakefruit gently intruded on xeir thoughts, holding a first-aid kit. "How bad is it?" Whimsy wordlessly showed the bite mark to the woman around xeir wrist. By then, the indents from Noha's teeth had honestly faded away, and all that remained was slight pink marks and his saliva. Honestly, xe was lucky he hadn't gotten on the more fleshy parts of xeir arm. "And Danni?"

"I don't know. I haven't figured out how I'm supposed to talk her down. She's never acted like this before," Whimsy admitted softly. Then, xe directed xeir attention to Danni. "Hey, Danni--"

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" Danni immediately started screaming, swinging her arms around wildly and stomping her feet, still gripping her wrist.

"Danni, you're not in trouble, sweetie." Whimsy tried to reassure her. "I know that you were just trying to protect me."

"That's right," Nurse Snakefruit chimed in, holding a bottle of disinfecting spray and gauze in her hands and crouching down to Danni's level. "I just need to look at the spot where Noha bit you."

"...too cold...too cold..."

Nurse Snakefruit took a chance and slowly crawled on her knees towards Danni. "My hands aren't cold, I promise. Feel them." Danni flinched, but instantly settled when the woman gently grasped her hand. Danni finally looked her in the eyes, appearing almost confused. "You see? My hands are warm, right?" The lass gave a very slow nod, her body slowly relaxing to the nurse's touch. "Can I look at the spot where Noha bit you?" It took Danni a moment to process, but she eventually pulled back her sleeve. "Oh, that's good." It seemed Noha had gotten mostly fabric, because by then, the bite mark only looked like a slight pinch on her skin. "There we go. That's all I needed. Thank you, sugar-booger. I'll see you later, okay?"

"...okay." With that, the nurse returned to her office.

"Danni, can I talk to you for a minute? You aren't in trouble." Whimsy pulled up a chair so xe could be eye-level with Danni. Xe gently took the girl's hands; Danni avoided eye contact, but didn't fight back. "Who are the ones in charge?"

"...you."

"Me, and Mx. Beehive, and Mr. Andre. I heard Mr. Andre tell you 'no,' when you ran over to me and Noha, and you didn't listen." Xe gave her a moment to process that. "I'm not going to punish you, but I AM going to ask you to do better. Our job as teachers is to make sure you all are safe, and your job as a student is to make safe choices. When someone isn't making a safe choice, WE will handle it, because we don't want anyone else to get hurt."

"...I don't want you to get hurt either," Danni lightly argued, tears bubbling in her eyes again.

"I know, but I'm an adult. I can handle myself." This next question may be a little complicated, but Whimsy was willing to give Danni the benefit of a doubt. "Can you tell me why you were crying for your mom earlier?"

Danni tapped her shoe a few times, no longer crying but still avoiding eye contact. "Mama got mad because I breaked my cousin's nose, and Mama's hand was really cold."

"Why did you break your cousin's nose?" Whimsy couldn't help but be impressed by the inflicted damage, but xe was careful to hide it and treat the subject seriously.

"He was always hitting me, and Mama and Papa tell me to just ignore it. Then he pushed a bookcase on me, and I breaked his nose."

Way to blame the victim, Whimsy thought. Of course, violence was "wrong," but there were times Whimsy felt it was appropriate, especially at this age. Children this young don't know how to talk through their differences, and if they feel like they can get away with something, they will absolutely do it. If Whimsy were Danni's mother, then xe probably would have joined in and tore the kid's parents a new asshole; familial ties be damned. How do I say this without talking shit about your parents?

"Thank you for telling me. It helps me understand you better... Do you want to go outside and play, or do you want to stay in here and relax? I don't mind staying with you in the room."

"I want to play."

"Okay." Whimsy took Danni's hand, and the two made their way to the outdoor playground.

***

"Don't do it..." Andre muttered under his breath. Whimsy and Danni had joined the rest of the class outside, and Naomi definitely noticed. Once Danni was alone, the little cyclops ran over to her with a smirk on her face.

"You STU--!" Before Naomi could even finish her taunting remark, Danni shoved her to the ground.

"SHUT UP, NAOMI!" Danni bellowed. "You can't even talk right!"

Very well executed, Andre nodded approvingly. That backlash was long overdue, if he were being honest. Naomi immediately started wailing and ran over to the closest adult, which happened to be Mellilla, but the woman sternly told Naomi that she wasn't getting a hug after making a bad choice and hurting Danni's feelings. Naomi searched for sympathy elsewhere, but all the adults were on the same page, and none offered her a gentle embrace. She made her way over to Andre, but he was just as steadfast as the others. However, he DID offer for her to sit down beside him while she calmed down.

Now, Naomi HAS gotten more vocal over the last few months, and she had some interesting remarks in her self-imposed time-out by Andre's feet. "Ye mean, Missir Ahnd'e! Ye mean 'cause ye BAD! Ye b'eakin' mah heart! Ye make mah heart sad!"

***

"Dr. Marker, if I could have a moment of your time..." Whimsy requested when the man came to pick up Danni from school at the end of the day. Keeping Noha's name out of it, xe explained the incident that occurred in the classroom, and what Danni had said during their conversation. The man's expression shifted from attentive to dismayed; he knew what Danni was referring to.

He sighed before offering an explanation. "Danni's parents loved her very much. However, the family as a whole had their issues, and the home was chaotic."

"Ohhh..." It all made sense; why Danni seemed to have mixed feelings about her own parents. In Whimsy's case, it was easy for xem to hate xeir mother; the woman did only the absolute minimum to keep Whimsy from dying, only to avoid being sent to jail. Xeir father... the feelings were more muddled than that. He didn't HATE Whimsy. Xe was a consequence that he didn't want to take responsibility for. He took care of xem because it was expected of him. The fact of the matter was, the two haven't spoken in years, and Whimsy intended to keep it that way, since he obviously didn't prioritize xeir feelings.

It's hard, coming to terms with the fact that one's parents just... aren't good at parenting.

  Danni described a "proper daughter," as one being born AFTER the parents are married, so she knows that she was born out of wedlock. Depending on the family's circumstances, maybe her parents didn't have a lot of resources, so they had to rely on less-than-loving relatives for support? This may be a bit of a stretch, but if Danni was regularly being bullied by her cousin and her parents told her to just ignore it, maybe they were just trying not to rock the boat, and therefore lose what resources that the relatives offered them. It would explain why Danni was particularly uneasy in unfamiliar situations and took longer than most to come out of her shell.

"Thank you for all the work that you do," Dr. Marker bowed his head. "I will be sure to stress to Danni the importance of following her teachers' instruction."

"We already discussed it, so that's not necessary," Whimsy assured him. "Regardless, all the best, Dr. Marker."

"All the best."