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 Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 6:30 pm
The bird wasn't backing off. In fact, the bird snapped at her -- causing the child to withdraw her hands backwards before it began trying to make itself look bigger! If the child hadn't been scared enough before, she certainly was now. That thing was huge and it tried to bite her! What was she going to do? She didn't want to be bird chow and if she was going to be food for any bird, it certainly wasn't going to be this one! Luckily, she heard Mr. Darrow's call to her and using his attack as a distraction she threw both hands of pebbles at the bird, grabbed Dogby off the ground and into her arms as she slid over to Mr. Darrow.
She grabbed at him, her tiny hands pulling at the back of his jacket as she tried to get him up and moving. They had to go go go before the bird got them! She pulled her hands away when she was unable to budge him, only to gasp as she found blood over her pale skin. He was more hurt than she guessed! Her eyes could only shoot an unhappy glance at the bird. This was such an unfriendly bird. It needed a time-out, and then to bed without dinner!
"Mr. Darrow... you're hurt... we have to get you to the hospital!" She let out a small cry, worrying about the librarian. They had to get out of here, all four of them. Mr. Darrow, Ainsley, Dogby and... Octavian Oswald. She worried about him too, who was all the way in the distance on the other side of the bird. How would they get away though? They couldn't out run it, could they? It could fly and easily swoop down again? The child was not a good critical thinker! All she could think about was getting everyone to safety, her eyes starting to water at her own inaptitude. She had to protect him, she just had to! She didn't want to face that ending, not again.
"I-I don't know what to do! Mr. Darrow... what do I doooo?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:32 pm
Tony let out a pained sound when he felt her tugging at him, though only because the fabric pulling away from his wounds wasn't exactly a sensation he liked, nor wanted to feel again. He didn't blame her, though, as she was scared and just wanted to get them both somewhere safe.
Which is what he wanted to do.
He knew, though, that these monsters could be defeated by them. By him, as he had killed one before. He did not want to risk Ainsley or Dogby, but he knew that running would just cause it to chase them. And that hadn't worked all that well beforehand.
He hadn't even noticed the fourth member of their party, the doll, had been dropped in the fray.
"Keep Dogby safe, okay?" He said quietly, trying to sound calm. He even offered her a smile, reassuring. "I'm not too badly hurt. Just make sure you don't let that bird get near you. I'm going to... get rid of it. Take Dogby and hide behind me. Don't look at the bird, okay?"
He didn't want her seeing him kill it, after all.
Struggling to his feet, he gripped his cane and focused on the bird as it waddled its way toward them. It had been so confident, but now that the tall man was standing up again it was definitely feeling a bit on the small side. But it had knocked him over once, it would try again. Flapping its strange wings, it lifted off the ground improbably and tried to fly back up and away from them, only to meet Tony's cane as it smashed down on its head.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 11:47 am
To hear Mr. Darrow's words were absolutely blissful to the child in such an hour of need. No longer did she wonder in confusion about what she should do, or fight something trying to eat her. No. She could put on a brave face and venture into the wildest dreams but to see him smile reassuringly at her and tell her what to do was all she needed from time to time. She could help him this way, and she could protect Dogby. She bravely wiped the tears from her eyes as she decided. Yes, that's what she'd do. She'd protect Dogby.
Giving the puppy a reassuring pat on the head she held onto her tightly, making sure the puppy was safe in her arms as she nodded her head to Mr. Darrow. She didn't make a peep and soon she took a couple steps back, keeping behind Mr. Darrow before she spun around on the heel of her shoes until she was looking in the other direction. It was quiet.
She could hear waddling in the silence.
Wings flapping.
And a whack.
She didn't look. No. She couldn't look. Her eyes found themselves clenched tightly together as she held her arms protectively around Dogby. She tried not to, but her legs found themselves trembling beneath her at the unknown of the situation. The child was left with only the idea that it would be okay, she'd protect Dogby and Mr. Darrow would protect her.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 1:13 pm
Dogby whined and nuzzled against Ainsley's hand, then against her body as the young girl held on to the puppy, it was clear that she was feeling worried about everything as well. Unfortunately, she couldn't articulate it, and just wanted to go and hide until the danger passed.
Tony couldn't take his attention away from the monster to make sure Ainsley had turned around. He had hit it once and it faltered, falling to the ground. He followed it for another hit, square on its ugly head, and it burst into dust.
He wobbled and let out a very heavy sigh of relief.
"Ainsley, are you okay?" he asked, turning to her now. He knelt down and put his hand on her shoulder, letting her turn around. She wouldn't see anything, after all: there was no body. The thing was dust in the wind now, and he was glad they weren't as strong as the usual youma that ran around the place. If they had been, there would have been no way for him to fight it off.
Dogby whimpered, looking around and trying to cuddle against Ainsley in an effort to all but disappear. But the monster was gone, and Tony pat the little dog on the head. He was tired, sore, and he had some minor cuts on his shoulders to worry about cleaning, but at least the two young girls hadn't been hurt. At least not badly: he was worried he had hurt Ainsley when he fell over and dropped her.
He would never have forgiven himself if that monster had gotten either of them.
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:52 am
Ainsley didn't reply immediately when Mr. Darrow asked if she was okay and when his hand arrived on her shoulder and when she jumped it was apparent she had not even heard him. She hadn't expected him to be there so suddenly and she could only make a small squeal, fear that perhaps it was the bird that was on her shoulder. It was an after effect but it seemed his words finally found their way past her fear and into her ears, allowing her to relax a little again as she was okay'd to turn around. There was nothing there, just Mr. Darrow. There was no bird, not even a body. The child couldn't begin to wonder what had happened. She could assume Mr. Darrow stopped the bird and didn't even have to hurt it in the process. Yes, that must be it.
What a knight!
She smiled a bit at him, finally looking at him as he was knealt in front of her. He really did look a lot like a knight as he was on his knees in such a manner. Knights did that, didn't they? Ainsley could have sworn she read something in a book about knights doing that to swear allegiance to. Either way, she really appreciated what he had done. He had protected them!
Eventually her head nodded, replying to his question. Yes, she was okay. Her knees and hands were a little scratched up from the fall but thankfully she had not hurt herself further than that. Kids were surprisingly resilient, unlike certain old men Ainsley knew. Her eyes couldn't help but settle on his injury before allowing Dogby back onto the ground so she could finally investigate her master's well-being before she could decide everything would be all right.
Ainsley had one last thing to do as well before she would be able to settle with things being all right and be able to retrieve Octavian Oswald from his "hiding place". This something was right in front of her, injured because he protected her. She would give her thanks to the kind librarian. The old man who seemingly came out of one of the books he seemed to guard to her very rescue. Her blue eyes on him, she carefully leaned to his cheek and gave him a small kiss before she leaned back with a soft, "Thank you Mr. Darrow. Thank you for protecting me."
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 1:23 pm
Tony was more than happy to let her think that he had let the bird go without having to kill it. Or he would have been, if he knew that was what she thought. All he wanted to do was keep her from witnessing the actual death of the thing, as that would be rather traumatic for a young girl. No more traumatic then, say, being attacked by a mutant pigeon in the first place, but that was neither here nor there at this point.
He smiled at her warmly, relief flooding through him when she nodded.
"Thank God," he breathed slowly, shaking his head. He looked down as Dogby came over and pressed her head to his leg, whining constantly, her little stump of a tail as far down as it could go. Tony pet her and smiled, glad she hadn't been hurt, either.
He looked surprised when the little girl thanked him, nodding his head.
"Of course! Hopefully that's enough adventure for both of us now. How about I finish walking you home... just in case." He chuckled, standing up and brushing his pants off. He winced, his back stinging and reminding him it was still mad with him. He could ignore it, though, for now. At least until his duty of protecting the princess was completed, and she was delivered safely to her castle.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:44 pm
The child could only smile at the reunion between Dogby and Mr. Darrow. It was just so cute. Not only that but it was such a nice change from what had only happened mere moments ago. It was most certainly enough adventure, at least for now. She had many more stories to attend to, after all! This wasn't Sleeping Beauty or Rapunzel where she could sit in a tower and her prince happen to find her there. Well, maybe, but she didn't have a tower to sit in.
"It would be my..." she thought about it for a moment, trying to pin-point the word she wanted to use, "pleasure, to accept."
However, her eyes looked around the area. There was one thing she had to do before they could go home. She had to find her little, floppy-eared prince. It took a few moments but under the tree close not very far from where they were standing was Octavian Oswald. He must have been thrown up into the air when they had the tumble earlier. Cheerfully she skipped over to the tree and scooped her dear prince back into her arms. She brushed him off, checked him for injuries and then smiled over at Mr. Darrow. She held out her hand to him, inviting them to head home.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:52 pm
Tony couldn't help but laugh at Ainsley's response, nodding his head. He was glad for the chance to help, and to relax after such a crazy encounter. It was nice to laugh and let it sink in that they were all perfectly fine, if not a bit scuffed and shaken. He scooped Dogby up and held on to her, thinking she had done enough walking and being alone.
He saw Ainsley looking around and frowned, wondering at first if she was looking for the monster.
"The bird is gone," he began, but then he saw her light up and go to collect her bunny. He sighed, smiling. The poor toy had been through a lot as well, it seemed, sitting a little distance away from them. He imagined everyone, Octavian Oswald included, needed a bit of a nap. He took her hand and made to walk with her, Dogby in his other hand, cuddled against his body safely.
At least the trip was uneventful from there on out. He got directions from her, so he didn't walk them into a wall or in the opposite direction of her house. Once they got there, he smiled. "Hopefully next time you visit the library, it will be less... adventurous. Save in those books." He laughed.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:35 pm
To arrive at home after such an adventure was quite a relief, bringing the child more peace to put all that behind her. She wondered if Bell was home, and if perhaps there was dinner prepared. Perhaps Xavier was over? Ainsley thought perhaps it would be nice if all of them could eat together as she gently released her hand from Mr. Darrow's and took a step up to the doorstep. She turned around to bid the two goodbye, she carefully leaned over the edge and gave Dogby a little rub behind her ears.
"You were so brave," she said to the puppy, smiling at Mr. Darrow.
"Thank you so much. For everything. I do look forward to my next visit, perhaps a story where a knight rescues a princess," she said. It was different. Normally she would read a story about a prince rescuing a princess but given the circumstances Ainsley thought she might like that story as well. Knights were just as brave and adventurous as any prince.
"Be careful going home," she said with a small mixture of a frown and a smile. She hoped he'd be okay alone.
With that, the child waved, making sure to have Octavian Oswald give a little wave too, before she stepped to the door - opened it - and stepped inside. The door closed and there she would fall back against the door of an empty house, clinging softly to the bunny her arms. Bell wasn't home, and neither was Xavier, but she was safe. She worried if Mr. Darrow would be okay having to go home alone and she hoped her sister would be home soon. Most of all, she hoped she'd find Mister Birdy soon.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:56 pm
Tony held Dogby so Ainsley could pet her and say goodbye. The little puppy licked at Ainsley's hand, whining affectionately and watching her with wide eyes. Her little tail was wagging slowly under the crook of Tony's arm. She was feeling a bit better, it seemed.
He nodded his head, agreeing that, as much as she could have been, Dogby had been brave. For a young puppy with tiny legs and no real way to defend herself, of course.
He smiled and nodded his head when she spoke to him.
"I'll be careful," he promised, "have a good night, little princess."
He waved, then sighed in relief once the door was closed. That meant she would be safe, as far as Tony knew. He didn't want to think about youma actually getting into homes, but hopefully that wouldn't happen now just because he thought about it. He worried too much, maybe, but he told himself she was fine, and the whole ordeal had been averted. Relaxing a bit, he made his way home slowly, his body tired, his leg sore. He was glad to get home and put Dogby down, letting her sleep on the sofa with him as he relaxed at last.
He fell right to sleep, forgetting about the scratches on his back or bothering to wonder where his cane had gotten to.
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