[Loyalty] Perfect Role Model [Roller Riot and Bee Sweet]

[Biblioburro]

Summer had come to a close, taking along with it her losing season. Hell's Belles had suffered some injuries and got knocked out of the bracket midway through in a brutal string of games. And Royal had handled a crushing loss the way any reasonable adult did.

She got drunk, whined at the poor beleaguered bartender like the sore loser she was, and woke up on a park bench the next morning with

'deer sobr riot
hid ur keys
luv u'

scrawled in metallic marker over her hoof. More or less par for the course but scavenger hunts were not something she was up to at ten in the morning with a hangover. So Drunk Riot's mythical key-hunting excursion would have to wait because Sober Riot was going to get a coffee, sit under a tree, and regret her life decisions that led her to this very moment.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

Bee Sweet stomped down the street, mouth tight as he felt his composure slowly melt. He couldn't believe it! It was rare for Bee to get in a disagreement with his parents, but it finally happened, and here he was; biting tears back as he avoided home. Why couldn't they understand him, or his passion? He knew what he was doing, even if his dad ended up stung on the nose! That was a one time thing!

Really!

His mouth lost its clamped grip as a choked sob left him, morphing into a sad whine. No, he felt bad. Not only that, but misunderstood, too! It stung, probably more so than his dads nose! Maybe...

Tears began to fall as Bee felt himself crumble into loud and childish sobs, complete with hiccups. Why couldn't they understand him?!

Biblioburro

 

[Biblioburro]

Ah yes, the park. A Peaceful resting place for a pony that sort of wanted to die right now. The shade did something for the painful light of a cloudless day, and the playground was far enough that childish screams and laughter were only a faint hum in the distance.

Or not. Loud, wet sobs filled her ears, breaking through her peace and making the pounding in her head all the more painful.

Probably shouldn't be putting her hooves on someone else's child but that crying needed to stop this instant. Really obvious she screwed up when her stupid, hungover brain caught up with her body, leaving Sober Riot pressing a hoof to a little foal's nose to stop him from crying. This was why she didn't have children.

"Okay hush down there buckaroo. Are you lost or something? Want me to help you find your parents? I'll do literally anything if you stop crying. Want ice cream? I can get you ice cream. Sit tight." She could definitely pick up some aspirin and some sunglasses at the bodega nearby. Along with ice cream. She didn't know what the hell to do for a crying kid but Riot was pretty sure the unacceptable procedure was to just run away and leave them god only knew where.

"Here, it's shaped like spongebob. Kids still like him right?"

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

Wailing upon wailing left Bee Sweet as he let himself embrace the frustrations of it all. It was loud, and possibly unneeded, but no one was around and thus Bee hadn't felt the need to quiet down. Well, not until it became very apparent that he wasn't alone. His nose scrunched up, a soft sound mixed between a gasp and a sob escaping the startled foal as, for a moment, he stopped, wet eyes looking up at what was possibly the coolest looking phony he had ever seen. His eyes lingered on her hair, mouth left ajar as it seemed to hesitate between another cry or silence. Distracted from his upset, the foal flicked his gaze to her face as she spoke, eyes widening just a tad as the phony left to retrieve... ice cream?

Now, he was like most children. He couldn't pass up on the offer, even if the back of his mind reminded him of a very stern warning from his parents: don't accept candy from strangers. This wasn't candy, though, so it was safe! When the mare returned with ice cream his mouth finally shut, seemingly settled on not crying for the moment.

"Spongebob?" It was worded with a soft question, as if he might not know who the mentioned character was. All doubt would be erased however as his eyes lit up and he accepted the treat. "I love Spongebob! Thank you! I can really have this?"

Biblioburro

He is appeased for now

 

[Biblioburro]

Oh thank Christ. She did not know what she was going to do if he kept crying, she barely knew what to do when she had.... feelings.

"So we're hitting the pause button on the waterworks for now, okay kiddo?" Asprin was a blessing, and Riot probably shouldn't have taken a whole hooffull but hey, can't be hungover if you're dead!

Whatever force in the universe that put a small child in her company was clearly either wrong or malevolent.

"Sooooooo... wanna tell me why you were so keen on flooding the park earlier? Not like it's my business or nothin but I figure I'm the only adult around that that probably means I have to be compassionate and stuff. So spill, kid. The world ain't ending right? I wasn't that drunk last night." Wouldn't be the first time she slept well into the next day but Riot tried not to lose whole days when she could help it.

Wait, probably shouldn't tell a small child that she was drunk.

"Drunk... on fun!" Nailed it.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

Ice cream now in mouth, Riot had herself a happy and quiet foal on her hands. He nodded in agreement as he nibbled at his new treat. Thank the deities for children (usually) being simple. His cheeks heated at her light jab, eyes averting away. Had he really been crying that much? Oh jeez... He rolled his eyes at her attempt to save herself, ice cream pulling away so he could speak.

"I know what being drunk is." Err, well, really, he didn't, but she didn't need to know that. Drunk was whatever that one phony had been when he was out with his mother. He had heard someone comment on the fallen and asleep phony, calling them a 'drunk fool'. Except, this mare wasn't asleep, and she didn't look like a fool. He squinted up at her, placing the ice cream back in his mouth for a second. He'd ask his mom later.

If there was a later.

That unrealistic part of being a child nipped him right in the heart, causing his eyes to start growing damp once more as he bit down on the ice cream. His parents totally hated him right now, he knew it! They probably never ever wanted to speak to him again.

"I made my parents mad." He finally managed, eyes flicking down. "They don't get mad at me, ever." Lies, but it felt the truth to little Bee. "I can never ever go home again."

Biblioburro

 

[Biblioburro]

"Well ********..." A child was sitting next to her. Her brain rushed to catch up. "Wait, s**t, I'm sorry! Don't repeat any of that, I don't need your parents banging down my door because I taught their tummy goblin some swears."

Or not, since he was apparently never allowed home ever again.

Snerk.

Okay yeah there was no holding in her laughter, even covering her mouth with a hoof didn't do much to mask the clear amusement. She had been worried at first but pure childish over-dramatics dragged her right out of any concern that maybe she wasn't being the best role model here.

"Alright, this I've got to hear. What did you do to get yourself booted for life from your loving home. Or did you burn it down. Arson is pretty hot." Her brows wiggled playfully, before it occurred to her that the pun may be lost to a childish vocabulary. "Or did you cannibalize one of your siblings? Sell the dog? You're gonna have to help me out here kiddo, because I'm running out of disownable offenses."

His hair was soft, kid's hair tended to be, perfect for ruffling into a tangled mess.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

His eyebrow lifted at the swears, mostly because it wasn't something he heard often in his home. He almost felt an urge to repeat one, biting it back for now. Riot could rest assured; his parents would end up hearing one of her chosen swears someday.

As she listed reasons for his imminent homeless state Bee felt his facial muscles tighten in absolute horror. Burn it down?! Cannibalize? Phonies did that?! He stared at her, mouth parted as the shock of it all seemed to, once more, distract the phony from his problems.

"No I- wha-" Eyes screwing shut as she ruffled his hair, he batted softly at her hoof, releasing a short and well needed laugh. "No, I..." His voice faltered, ears flicking back as his smile faded. Talking about his problems was hard, and admitting that perhaps he was in the wrong was even harder. "I collect bugs. Bees, especially. I really like them. Dad always said to keep them in things, but..." The unicorn looked down, kicking at the ground absently. "I heard on tv that some phonies can get so close to a bee colony that the bees remember them and won't hurt them. So I thought... if I just left a few in my room that they'd eventually like me. They got out. Everywhere."

Biblioburro

 

[Biblioburro]

"Hmmm, sounds a whole lot like good intentions, bad execution." But really? That was it? Just release a few bugs in the house and he considered himself a homeless, unloved vagrant, doomed to wander the streets for the rest of his life?

Cute. She forgot what it was like to be a kid, so overwhelmed by the littlest of things. Kinda dumb.

Must be rough.

"So what, you released bees into your house, I'm guessing someone somewhere has got a pretty nasty sting right about now, huh?" Probably, it was bees after all. Sweet that he thought they would love him but she was pretty sure that they probably didn't live long enough. They were bugs. Right?

"Did your 'rents tell you to take a hike or are you just inferring this? It's not as if I know your parents, and I don't have kids, but I'm pretty hard-pressed to find a parent who's willing to give their kid the boot over a few bugs. It's not even like an infestation. Bees just sort of do their own thing. They're like fat wasps that haven't yet learned to hate."

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

He nodded faintly at her first question, eyes trained on his hooves. "Yeah," He admitted, taking one tiny and sad bite out of his ice cream. Goodbye Spongebob's face.

His brow creased, head shaking faintly. No, no one had really said to get out, but... They had been mad. Really mad. Or maybe they had just been yelling because they were trying to fight the bees off? He... he couldn't really remember, now that he tried to think about it. He had just assumed...

"I left before they could talk to me." His tone had shifted, a hint of awareness in his tone. Wait, maybe... "I heard yelling but... I don't know...."

Was all of this ridiculous? Wait, was he not homeless? His parents might still love him?

Biblioburro

 

[Biblioburro]

"From what I can tell, you let bees loose in the house, someone got stung, and you thought that was enough to get you booted?" Poor kid, while it was funny and over-dramatic Riot could see where his concerns laid. She wasn't... good at this. So hopefully the awkward side hug she pulled him into could be forgiven.

"First things first I guess. Don't know a whole lot about bees but I'm pretty sure living in a hive is their thing, you know? Might just be one of them animals where you've got to get the habitat right.
Like geckos I think? If it was me I'd probably be pretty freaked out that I couldn't find home and there were a bunch of giants screaming around me. But hey, that's just my point of view." She knew nothing about animals, but bees were always linked to hives in her mind. So of course maybe they just wanted to go home. Made sense.

"As for your parents... they're your parents. I don't have a whole lot of experience here either but I'm pretty sure that they don't have a say in loving you. They're legally obligated. Not saying this is a green light to be a fuuuu....dge up. Just that they're probably stuck with you. So you're allowed to be a kid. That's why they had one and not a couple porcelain dolls.You gotta trust the people who love you." Ugh, that was so sappy. And pulled entirely whole cloth from her a**. She had no earthly idea what she was talking about but it certainly sounded deep.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

He nodded, feeling the realization wash over him in a slow tide. Now that she worded it like that... it really did seem silly. The hug was greeted with a gentle return of an awkward squeeze, an appreciative sigh escaping him for the brief moment of comfort. Who would have thought a strange phony in the middle of the park would end up getting him ice cream and giving him life advice? It was surreal, and yet strangely reassuring to think that the world never ceased to amaze.

And, she made a good point; one he should have considered awhile ago. He claimed to love bugs, and yet he had taken bees not only from their hive, but also treated them irresponsibly in the process, most likely terrifying them despite his best intentions. Of course things ended up the way they did.

His parents, too, he had underestimated. They loved him; he always knew that. He always felt an unconditional love for them, why wouldn't they feel the same for him? He had never felt unwanted, nor had he ever been treated cruelly. They loved him and his siblings.

She was right.

His head raised as he nodded. She was right! He could go home! "You're right." He looked down at his ice cream, a back hoof kicking at the ground absently.

"They wouldn't stop loving me because of that. Maybe they're mad.... but..." But it'd be okay, because it was just bees and they were still a family, even if he was the reason they had a few stings.

Biblioburro

 

[Biblioburro]

There it was. Thank god. Riot didn't really know how many more cliches she had at her disposal before she just started quoting movies.

Bee was swept up into a noogie that wasn't nearly as hard as she usually made them. Consider it going easy on a kid.

"See? They're your parents. They're stuck with you. So stop thinking about it so hard." And maybe don't cry and take food from strangers next time. She tactfully left that part out.

"Here, how abouts I walk you back home, you can apologize to your parents and hug it out. They're probably more freaked out that their kid disappeared than the whole 'bees are taking over their home' thing." And that would be one small child out of her hair, leaving her awake and mostly functional to go on the little key quest her drunk self decided it wanted to send her on.

"And you can do me the solid of never mentioning to your parents that I used bad words in front of you. Deal?"

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

She was right. They loved him, and while he didn't quite like the wording that they were stuck with him, it was true. Honeysuckle and Rose Knight were the best parents a foal could ask for! He squirmed under her noogie, letting out a wail of dismay as he swatted at her hooves before laughing softly once more.

"Okay, I won't tell them." He promised, scrunching his nose playfully at the other. He paused, pulling back to fell his ice cream in one swoop before bounding off in-front of her. It was time to go home.

"I don't live far from here, it'll be a quick walk."

Biblioburro

Fin!