Stanford was sitting at the table of the kitchen of the Stan O War writing the latest observation he had made of their little guest. A few days ago, after returning to the cave with the golden pond Stan and him decided to take care of the now four years old Arthuria.
She was one of Stan's old friends, one of the few good ones he had made during his homeless days. She was quite the anomaly, she looked like a woman in her mid-twenties, but was more likely around a hundred years old. After the pond incident, she got reduced to a four year old toddler, with the mental capacity that goes with it. Her memories also got reverted in the process, but some part of her brain made her realise that she could trust Stan and himself to take care of her.
Ford had already started to take plenty of notes on her adult self, but the toddler had a new panoplie of behaviors he could record all over again on her. He was really glad that Stan had introduced her to him when they stumbled upon her. She had quickly warmed up to him. Both friends had been glad to meet again. Ford couldn't help but feel a little jealous of their reunion. They hadn't parted ways on bad terms and had been reunited some fortyish years later by pure coincidence. Unlike his departure from his friends and family. Ford shook his head to make those dark thoughts go away. The past is in the past and he had made up with Fiddleford upon his return home. He was happy now with his family and his friends. His brother was on deck prepping everything for the short excursion in the open sea they planned to do next week and their toddler friend was just underneath him. All was well.
The aforementioned toddler was now sitting on his feet and playing with her little army men under the table. Arthuria, or Little A as the brothers liked to call her, was talking to herself and her toys. He could feel her tail twitching and rubbing against his calves. Ford was sure that Stan and him would've had to entertain her in some kind of way, since she was so young, but she didn't need them. Ford wondered if it's because she had been a lonely child when she was younger. It would explain her independence tendencies. She still didn't like to be left alone for long periods of time. Maybe she was scared of being abandoned? She might have been at some point...
He wrote down his concerns and felt Little A's weight shifted on his feet. He registered from the corner of his eyes that she extracted herself from under the table. Her little ginger head poking out. She walked toward the counters and opened some of the doors. He heard her open up a few before a little excited noise escaped her. She rummaged and came trotting back under the table. She sat herself back onto his feet, this time leaning against his legs. She shifted her weight, before founding a comfortable position. Her tail wagged happily against the floor. Stanford wouldn't have paid too much attention if not for the sound of a plastic bag being open. He raised an eyebrow and his head at the noise.
Stanford looked down at her. Little A had found his stash of jelly beans! She had picked the bag from the cupboard and came back under the table to eat them. Ford cleared his throat to get her attention. She looked up to him, a jelly bean halfway to her mouth and smiled at him. « What do you think you're doing, little one? » he asked her.
Little A looked alternatively at Ford and the jelly bean in her hands. She raised it toward him and tilted one ear. « Hungwie. » She said before popping the jelly into her mouth. Her tail thumped happily on the ground to the rhythm of her chewing. She reached back into the bag to pick another one and kept eating happily.
Stanford raised his head and looked at the clock on the other side of the room. He must've lost track of time. It was getting late and it was time to get started on the evening meal. No wonder Little A was feeling hungry at this hour. Ford still didn't like the idea of the toddler eating something so sweet or stuffing herself like this before dinner. It didn't bother him that she liked the jelly beans, it just wasn't the right time to eat them.
Ford stood up and pushed his chair aside to have more room. He crouched down and looked at the little girl under the table. Upon his sudden movement, Little A let out a little surprised yelp, fell down on her back and frowned at Stanford. She didn't like this sudden change. She flopped on her stomach, rolled around and stood up under the table. Her wolf-like ears barely scraped the top of the table. She kept the bag of jelly beans close to her chest and moved away from Stanford when he extended his hands towards her. « Now little one, give me the bag of jelly beans. If you are hungry I'll get started on making dinner. »
Little A's ears flatten against her head and stare wide-eyed at Stanford. She took a few careful steps back and hugged the bag closer to her chest. She kneeled down and hunched over herself, her tail curling protectively around her. « No. Jelly beans better. »
Ford frowned at her. « I know they are good, but they aren't a proper meal. Now hand me the bag, please. » He opened his hand, inviting her to deposit the bag in it. She just shuffled further away and started to raise her hackles. Stanford just bent down on his knees to get closer to her, getting on all four. He was now under the table. As he tried to get closer to her, she kept staying out of his reach, Little A started to snarl. Quietly at first, but louder as he came close to her. The hair on her tail standing on edge as well. « Hey, none of that now! Just give me the bag and I'll feed you proper food. » Ford schooled her. He didn't like the attitude she seemed to have when food was involved. It was very reminiscent of a wild animal protecting its meal. She had the decency to look a bit ashamed and lowered her head pitifully. She was still clinging to the bag but lowered her guard a little.
Little A seemed to have calmed down and Stanford took his chance to reach forward for the bag. He had hopped to grab it before she could realise what was going on. Things escalated pretty quickly after that. Ford didn't think the toddler would be able to move this fast. He managed to briefly graze the bag before Little A reeled back out of surprise. All the hair on her body was now standing on edge, her ears were flat and she snarled viciously at him. She longed forward and sank her fangs into his hand, taking a bite out of him.
Ford let out a mixed cry of pain and surprise and reeled back, bumping his head against the top of the table and falling on his rear in the process. He grunted, closed his eyes in pain and rubbed the top of his head, making the dull pain disappear. His right hand was throbbing where he could feel his skin had been pierced. He opened his eyes and assessed the damage. Fortunately, it wasn't something worth worrying about. The two little holes were kinda deep and little drops of blood were sinking on the side of his hand, but nothing a little disinfectant and bandages won't solve.
« Hot belgian waffles! What is going on here!? » He heard a gruff voice exclaim coming from the cabin door. Ford took a quick glance around him, but Little A wasn't there anymore. The bag of jelly beans had been spilled and left unattended under the table. He sighed deeply. This wasn't a good sign.
Stan had just finished tying everything down on the deck, when his stomach began to grumble. He looked up at the sky to see the sun starting to dip on the horizon. It seems like a good time to start up dinner. Ford must've been too caught up with his notes on Little A to notice the time to think about dinner. The little gremlin isn't too forgetful about those things. She might be a toddler, but if he remembered correctly, there wasn't much to stop her from getting some food.
After giving one last look at the ropes that tied the Stan O War solidly to the marina and deemed them secure, he took his leave and headed below deck.
Stan shrugged his shoulders and headed for their cabine. Just as he passed the threshold of the door, he heard his brother's pain yelled coming from under the table. Not soon after a little orange fur ball dashed out and headed for their bedroom. « Hot belgian waffles! What is going on here!? » he exclaimed to the room. He heard some grumbling coming from under the table, soon followed by his brother extrepting himself from underneath it. He was holding his bag of jelly beans in right hand and rubbing his head with the other. He looked a little shaken by what had just happened.
« Little A found my jelly beans. » He deadpanned. He said it like it explained everything, but Stan was completely lost. He raised an eyebrow at Ford's sentence and looked him over. He seemed fine, until Stan's eyes landed on the two little red dots on his brother's right hand. His eyebrow shot to his hairline and he pointed a finger toward his twin. Ford followed his gaze and sighed. « I was trying to get them back, I moved too fast and she bit me, but she didn't mean it! » he added quickly, rubbing his arm sheepishly.
That explained why the little squirt had made a bee line for their bedroom. She felt bad for what she did. « What was she doing with your jelly beans? » Stan asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Little A might've been guilty of biting Ford, but she shouldn't have had access to them in the first place.
« She got hungry, searched our pantry and found them. I didn't realize it was this late. I should've kept track of the time and gave her a proper snack earlier. » That seemed like the understatement of the years. « I feel sorry for rushing her. » Ford rubbed the back of his neck and looked down.
Stan pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. « Ok. I'll go check on her. Ya go clean yourself up and get started on dinner. » He walked toward their bedroom, where Little A had run too. Before stepping inside, he turned back toward his brother and added « Maybe some mac and cheese? » He shot Ford a smile before disappearing into the room, not bothering to hear his response.
Stan walked in and closed the door behind him. Their room was pitched black. Of course, Little A was too small to reach any of the switches on the boat. Plus in her distressed state, she wouldn't bother to turn them on. Stan turned the lights on and scanned the room. It was pretty much how they had left it this morning after waking up. Their bunk bed in front of him and Little A's pillow next to the door. Stan's bed wasn't made, Ford was and Little A's pillow was a little mess. The blanket she used to keep herself warm at night was halfway on the ground but Stan saw no signs of her stuffed orca. She must've grabbed it before hiding away somewhere.
Stan sighed and headed for his bed. This little fella liked to hide away in dark places when she was upset. Reminding him of a certain nerd. He chuckled and crouched down to have a look under his bed. He was a bit surprised to find the space devoid of an upset four year old little ginger hair girl with a wolf tail and ears holding it's stuffed orca. He frowned and stood up, grunting loudly in the process. He was getting too old to crouch down on all four to look under some beds.
After standing back up, cracking his back a little in the process, Stan scanned the room again for something he might've missed. Nothing had been moved and he didn't see her get out, so Little A must've still been in the room somewhere. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and concentrated on the different sounds around him. He could vaguely hear Ford through the walls prepping dinner, the waves sawing softly against the ship and a soft muffled hitched breathing. There it is!
Stan turned on his heels and headed for their wardrobe. They had been shut back up, that's why he didn't notice anything different. They only kept their heavy coats for the colder weather there. It was warm and dark, the perfect hiding place to hide from the world at the moment.
As he came closer, Stan could distinctly pick up some sobbing noises. Stan stopped himself a few inches away from the doors. He knocked softly and pushed one of the doors open. He saw within the thin line of light that got in, a small ginger bundle on the ground curled up on itself hugging an orca plush tightly. Little A's shoulders were twitching with each of her breaths. Her tail was tucked closely to around her and her ears were drooping behind her head.
Stan cleared his throat. Little A's ears twitched at the sound, she raised her head slightly to look at him and ducked back down as soon as her eyes met his. She hugged her orca even tighter. « Go 'way. Leave me 'lone. » He heard her say in her stuffed animal.
« I ain't going anywhere sweet pea. » Little A grunted at him. Stan tried to open the door of the wardrobe more, but Little A grabbed it and closed it shut. Stan sighed and sank to the floor. He rested his back against the door. « Ya wanna talk about what happened? » He caught a muffled sound he took as a negative answer.
Stan took a deep breath, held it in a moment and let out slowly. He removed his beanie from his head and started to plan idly with seams. He chuckled weakly. If she didn't want to talk right now, he'll do the talking.
Stan first started to talk about some of the stuff Ford and him did when they were young that got them into trouble more than once. How they would come back home all bruised up because of some bullies or just roughhousing around. His throat began to feel sore after a while.« Ya know, accidents happen. People make mistakes all the time. Nobody is perfect. » He let that sink in. When he heard nothing in response he kept going. « Ford and I both made our fair share of mistakes and accidents. How do ya think I got the brand on my shoulder?» He took a shaky breath at the memory. Definitely not one of their best times together. « A dumb accident. » He added quietly. He felt the door next to him open up a little. He glanced back and saw two red rimmed green eyes looking up at him. Snot was coming out of her nose and her ears were still drooping.
Little A shimmied out of the closet and came sitting next to him. She still hung to her orca like her life depended on it. « Sisser mad a' me? » she asked quietly, a sob escaping her.
Stan smiled fondly and rested a reassuring hand on her small shoulder. « He's not mad at ya, sweet pea. Ya startled him. He didn't expect ya to bite, that's all. » He squeezed her, bringing her closer. She didn't resist. Little A burrowed a bit deeper into his side, taking in a shuddering breath.
Little A let go of her plushie and started to tug at some wild hair on her tail. She frowned « Imma bad? » She had asked so quietly that Stan almost didn't hear any of it. He wasn't sure if she ment for him to hear it or if she was talking to herself. He glanced down at her. She looked so distraught and small next to him. She reminded him of Ford when he got bullied or made fun of because of his hands, wondering what was wrong with him.
Stan took a deep breath and rubbed a hand over his face. He squeezed her shoulder tighter and used his other hand to force her to look at him in the eyes. Another set of tears were threatening to roll over her cheek, but she kept them at bay. Swallowing and blinking hard to make them go away. Her lips were wobbling. « Sweet pea, ya are not bad. Nobody on this boat is. » He reached a hand to her face and delicately removed a wayward tear from her cheek. « It was an accident. It won't happen again. » He kept a smile on his face to cheer her up. She had calmed down enough to smile a little back at him. Her breathing was more regular too. She turned her head to look at something in front of them. For a few moments she just stared into the distance, not moving a muscle.
Little A uncurled herself from his hold. She stood on two shaky legs and looked at him. She had a determined expression on her face. Stan wasn't sure if it was a good sign or not. « Won't happen again. » She nodded and walked out the room, holding her stuffed orca with one hand. She exited so fast that Stan had to blink a couple of times to register what had happened. He stands up and follows her out, his old body protesting the movement in the process. He's got a bad feeling about this.
« Dinner is ready, just go clean yourselves out and we'll be ready to eat. » Stan heard Ford say as he exited the bedroom. Little A was walking to the bathroom. Quite fast if Stan was being honest. He shot a glance at his twin. He was over the stove and had his back on him. His brother looked less shaken than he had a few moments ago. Ford had put a bandage on his right hand over his small bite wound. Stan couldn't help but be impressed with the strength their little friend had in her small jaw to pierce someone's skin like that.
Stan cleared his throat to get his twins attention. Stanford turned around to look at him, one eyebrow raised. He was about to say something when they both heard the sound of the bathroom door close. They both stood there in silence as they let that sink in. Little A never closes the bathroom door! When she would use it, she would just make it look close. She was afraid to get locked inside, even when Ford had assured her it wouldn't happen.
Both brothers looked at each other with eyes wide open. This definitely wasn't a good sign. They both rushed to the bathroom door. Stan was the first to get there. He tested the door handle and was happy to find it unlocked. He dared not to think what they would've done if it had been locked. He opened the door in one swoop movement.
Time seemed to stop around Stan. His breath caught in his throat. Whatever was happening in front of him, wasn't what he was seeing. He wasn't aboard the Stan O War, he was back in his childhood home. In front of him was a young Stanford Pines with a pair of scissors trying to cut his sixth fingers with huge tear streak on his cheeks. Stan just stood there frozen in place.
« ARTHURIA! » Ford exclaimed as he passed by Stan, snapping him out of wherever his mind had taken him to. He rushed to stop the horror picture that was happening in the bathroom at this moment.
In front of them standing on the sink looking at the mirror, Little A was holding a pair of tweezers and was trying to pull one of her fangs out.
The little girl jumped at the mention of her name and dropped the pair of tweezers into the sink. She looked up at them, eyes red-rimmed with tears and small tracks of blood going down her lower wobbling lips. She had a horrified look on her face, she hadn't expected to be caught this early on. Her jump made her lose her balance and she swayed backward. A scared yelp escaped her as she fell down. Her arms swayed as she tried to keep her balanced, but it was too late and she fell down.
Stanford heard Stan take a quick breath behind him. His own heart leaped into his throat. He dared not to think of what their little friend had been trying to do. Whatever it had been, it wasn't a solution.
Ford was fast enough to catch the toddler before she could hit the ground and hurt herself. « I've got you! » He said holding Little A close to his chest, wrapping her into his embrace. She squirmed in his arms, making little protesting sounds. Ford just held her tighter to calm her down. She was breathing shallowly, but the hold he had calmed her down. Stan came close and rubbed circles on the little girl's head. Her ears were glued to her head, if they were in public he doubted anyone could see them. Her tail was curled between her legs. She sobbed violently into his arms, burrowing into his chest. Her tiny fist grabbing desperately at his red turtleneck.
Ford crouched down on the ground, rocking Little A back and forth while making some soothing sound. Stan followed him. His twin spotted her stuffed orca discarded on the floor next to the sink and tried to give it back to her, but she didn't want it and sank deeper into Ford's embrace. They both sat down on the bathroom floor, rocking the small toddler softly and making small reassuring sounds. Waiting for her to calm down.
While Ford kept rocking Little A, he looked up at Stan and mouthed « What happened? ». A worried frown plastered on his face.
Stan answered quietly « She just said that it wouldn't happen again and left ». He waved a hand at the bathroom « Coming here. » They looked down sadly at the little bundle hiding behind Ford's arms. She was so small and innocent in this form. So unlike her rebunchus adult self.
They stayed in that position for a long time, giving Little A all the time she needed to calm herself. After a while, her breathing became more regular and even. She sniffed a couple of times, rubbing her nose against Stanford's sweater. Ford heard a small chuckle coming from Stan and didn't care. His sweater wasn't important at that moment. Since she had calmed down, Stan tried to give her the orca again. She glanced at it for a moment and slowly took it into her arms, letting go of Ford's turtleneck and settling on his lap instead. Stanford opened his arms to allow her to move and rubbed circles on her back.
Now sitting on Ford's lap, Little A took rapid glances at the two brothers. She then proceeded to avert their eyes at all cost. Founding her stuffed animal and the floor far more interesting. She hugged her stuffed animal tighter. The little girl started to play idly with one of its flippers. She would jump a little each time a hiccup would hit her. Her lower lips still had some traces of blood. Her whole body was screaming shame to the elder twins.
Ford saw Stan reach a hand and gently patted Little A's head, ruffling her hair a little to ease the tension from her small frame. She sagged a little, leaned in the touch and managed a very small and shy smile. « All right sweet pea, it's all right, you're ok. You're safe. We aren't mad at ya. » Stan said softly to the toddler. He nudged Ford in the ribs to encourage him to say something.
Ford cleared his throat and added quietly « We never were. We just got scared. ». He licked his lips, searching a moment for what to say next. « What were you trying to do? » He probed carefully.
Little A kept her gaze to the ground and answered quietly « No fangs, no biting an' no pwoblem. ». She played with her orca a little more, still not looking at them.
The twins exchanged a knowing look. They understood where her reasoning was coming from, but still didn't like it. Ford looked down at one of his hands and sighed deeply. Stan rested a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He nodded towards Little A to encourage him to say what was on his mind.
Stanford took a deep breath, braced himself and made one of Little A's hands uncurled around her plushies to instead hold his own. She let him and started following the lines inside his palm with her index. « You know a long time ago, I tried to do the same thing you did ». Ford started softly. The toddler looked up at him and frowned. She had stopped crying, but her eyes were still pretty red. « Granted, I didn't try to remove one of my teeth, but I did try to cut off my extra fingers… » He stopped there to let the information sink in for the toddler.
Little A frowned at the statement and looked at his hands. She counted each finger with her own a couple of times before looking back at him. « Sisser wouldn't be Sisser with five fingers. »
« Exactly. And you wouldn't be YOU... » Ford poked her gently on the tip of her nose, earning small giggles in the process. « Without your fangs, don't you agree? »
« Plus with your amazing healing properties, don't ya think it would've just grown back up again? » Stan added while lifting her chin gently. She sniffed a little and smiled at them. It wasn't a full blown smile at the moment, but it was something. She was definitely more calm and composed than she had been moments ago. She took one last shuddering breath, her little frame shaking one last time. Her ears rising slowly above her head and her tail uncurling.
Stanford tried to pull his hand back, but Little A grabbed it again and looked at the bandage. She rested her own hand atop of it and pulled his hand toward her to hug it tightly. « I'm sowwie » She whispered.
« And I'm sorry for startling you earlier, little one. Next time you are hungry, can you promise you'll let me know? » he asked her. Stan elbowed him and Ford laughed a little. « Promise us, you'll let us know? » He clarified. Stan grunted in approval, crossed his arms above his chest and smiled.
Little A laughed at Stan's antics and looked seriously at them both. « Pwomise » She added, raising her head high and strengthening her back. Her stomach made a huge gurgling sound. She let go of Stanford's hand and grabbed her middle section with one arm, the other still holding her stuffed orca. « I'm hungwie now. » She smiled at them sheepishly. Ford saw the dried blood still on her lips and frowned.
« Let's clean you up before, ok? » Little A nodded and let him raise her in his arms. He settled her down on the sink.She was still holding her orca, but she wasn't clinging to it anymore. She was just holding it now. Stan tossed the tweezers far away, took a clean towel and handed it to his brother.
Ford soaked the cloth in warm water and washed Little A's face. The toddler let him do his cleaning without a fuss. Ford took the time to look at the tooth she had tried to pull off. He lifted her lips upward and carefully probbed the tooth with a finger. The little girl winced a little, but didn't recoil.
Ford sighed in relief. The tooth was still solidly attached and wasn't budging. He saw a small cut above the fang in her gums and suspected that's where most of the blood on her lips originated from. Stan looked from behind his shoulder and whistled. « Ya didn't miss you there, sweet pea. »
Stanford let go of her mouth and she looked sheepishly at them. « Indeed, but otherwise it seems alright. It might hurt a little when you eat tonight, but you'll probably have all healed up by tomorrow morning. » Ford lifted her up again and rested her on his left arm. « Lucky for you, we are eating Mac and cheese. The best comfort food there is. »
Little A's ears perked up and her tail wagged. She closed her eyes and sniffed the air to pick up the aroma. She frowned and looked at Ford with a serious look. « Smell like burn. »
Stanford's eyebrow shot to his hairline at the sudden realization. He turned on his heels, pushed Little A and her plushies into Stan's arms and bolted out of the room.
Stan just stood there for a couple of minutes with Little A dangling in his hands. « What's that all about? » He said aloud to no one in particular. He shifted the toddler in his hands to rest her in his arms like Ford had just been holding her seconds ago. Little A just raised her shoulder and shrugged. Her stuffed orca was dangling in one her hand, the other holding onto Stan's shirt for balance.
They both jumped in surprised when they heard a loud growl coming from the kitchen followed by some colorful profanity. Little A laughed in Stan's arms, the first time in the evening « Sisser swear! ».
Stan laughed himself « Never repeat that anywhere near him. » He winked at her and put a finger to his mouth to ensure her silence. She mimicked him and nodded.
Stan walked out of the bathroom with Little A still in his arms. He turned toward the kitchen just in time to see Ford tossed a slightly smoking pot into the sink. Stan cleared his throat. His twin turned around and smiled sheepishly at them.
« You guys want to go out for some pizzas instead? » He asked while rubbing a hand behind his neck.
« Only if ya change shirt first » Stan said pointing with his chin to the snots, tear and blood drops of his sweater.
Ford looked down and noticed how filthy his turtleneck now looked. He looked back at Stan and walked towards their bedroom to get change. « Fair enough » He said as he walked past his brother and Little A, giving her a little pat on the head.
When Ford disappeared from their line of sight, Stan leaned close to Little A's ears and whispered complicitly « Ya see? Accidents and mistakes happen all the time, sweet pea. Even an old nerd owl can make them. »
Little A laughed open heartedly in his arms. Little fangs poking out of her teeth line. Her eyes were still a bit red rimmed, but it would probably be gone in a few instants. Her tail was wagging and her ears were perked up. She was a happy kid, just like she should be. Stan couldn't help but laugh with her as they waited for Ford to get ready and go out for pizzas.