"PUT ME DOWN! Who do you think you are?! YOU CAN'T JUST YANK ME OUT OF NOWHERE AND—"
The inevitable, approaching-from-behind sound of Cashmere making a fuss at her little scheme being figured out was music to the Snatcher's ears. The closer she was carried, the wider his smug grin got. But at least he was fair enough to wait until her shrieking indignation was right behind him. From there, he turned around and stared his captured little troublemaker in the face with such a dirty look that she paled and shut RIGHT up upon seeing him.
"Let her go, Moonboy. She knows what'd happen to her if she tried to run off now."
He didn't sound happy… Why would he, she'd been caught red-handed! But at least she had a name for the mysterious jester who'd nabbed her and brought her all the way back here.
"If you say so, Brother~" Came her captor's smooth voice in reply. "You should have SEEN the look on her face when she realized she'd been found out! I almost felt bad, poor thing! Looked like she was about to soil her clothes!"
Thankfully, this 'Moonjumper' gently placed her on the ground before not-so-nicely shoving her forward by the shoulders. Cashmere stumbled with a small yelp, but steadied her trembling knees and straightened herself up to face her guardian properly.
"Uhh- hi! Heheheh.." She stammered, the corners of her own mouth turning up a bit in a nervous smile. "Er, you didn't tell me you had a—"
"Zip it, Shortstop."Snatcher interrupted sharply, his tone devoid of it's usual humor, despite the seemingly easy going smirk he still wore. "And don't you DARE bootlick your way out of this— it may have worked when you were little, but you're far from off the hook. Not after THIS stunt you just pulled!"
Cashmere hung her head, the telltale expression of knowing guilt that she'd done something wrong etched onto her face. He would have felt bad if he didn't already know of her curious streak when she was younger— she was old enough now to know that going that far away from the village was forbidden. Pity for her was out of the question. Snatcher crossed his arms, glaring down at the child and continuing with his scolding.
"SERIOUSLY! Sneaking off? Not telling me where you were going? And then, as if those weren't bad enough, you went ALL THE WAY to the edge of the woods? You know better than that, Cashmere, what do you have to say for yourself?"
Now almost all eyes in Subcon were turned on her. Snatcher's, Moonjumper's, the dwellers… even her fellow minions, who'd all gathered in silence and stayed at a distance to watch Snatcher's little paragon get reamed out. Cashmere knew it, too. This was a heavy mark against her reputation as their resident 'good girl'. Knowing that this was the first REAL time she'd gotten in actual trouble with the Snatcher for something was embarrassing.
It was because of this new development that Cashmere stayed silent for what felt like hours. Both in shock, and considerable stage fright at being called out like this. Her face burned at their piercing gazes; this was the worst she'd felt in all ten years she'd been alive. It was humiliating.
"Okay, can I just say that I didn't LEAVE the forest?" She eventually replied. "All I did was stand near the Dividing Line… I didn't try to get out or anything, why—"
"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE OUT THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE! DID I NOT EXPLICITLY MARK THE OUTER REGION AS FORBIDDEN, OR ARE YOU AS BLISSFULLY FORGETFUL AS THE OTHERS THAT YOU JUST WALTZED OVER THERE AND HORSED AROUND WITHOUT GIVING A JITT?!"The Snatcher roared in fury, leaning over her dangerously as though he meant to strike her down. But Cashmere had gotten braver in the few seconds it took her to defend herself. So she threw her hands up in frustration when he stopped yelling.
"I DIDN'T LEAVE! I couldn't sleep, I took a walk to get tired again!" Cashmere snapped, like an angsty teenager getting caught breaking curfew. "It didn't work! I looked over at the outside of the woods! Where's the harm in that?"
A collective gasp was her only response, then silence. Cashmere may have been Snatcher's little leading light, but this was the first time she'd ever raised her voice to him in protest. Even HE was shocked at her outburst— the kid had a spine after all! Were she not currently in trouble, he might have been impressed at her spunk.
But not now.
The Snatcher took a deep breath, shaking his head in disappointment. His gaze narrowed down at her, having previously widened at her yelling back at him. Cashmere herself had shrank back timidly seconds earlier, regretting the words as soon as she'd blurted them out. Both hands covered her mouth in complete horror at what she'd just said. She had to explain! Apologize! She'd been up before dawn, walked for so long, no wonder she'd gotten cranky and irritable in that time! She didn't mean to—
"We made a DEAL."Snatcher started again in tranquil fury before she could say another word. "And if you think you're allowed to skate around the fine print at your leisure, then you shouldn't mind me going back on MY word whenever Iwant, either."
Cashmere trembled. She couldn't even look at him, while he flicked his wrist dismissively. A pickaxe materialized overhead before clattering at her feet. The girl balked; all the Snatcher could do was chuckle at her expense.
"New chores, kiddo!"He exclaimed brightly at her confusion. "Go chip away at all this ice around here until I tell you to stop!"
"What?! But that ice never goes away for anything!"
"Why do you think I'm having you do it now?"He sneered back, soaking up her incredulousness like a sponge. "I know."
Cashmere's eyes brimmed with tears. When Snatcher turned away, she grabbed the pickaxe without a choice and tore off to the farthest piece of ice she could find. Away from all of their mocking smiles.
If she looked at anyone as she passed by, though, she'd have seen it was only the Snatcher who was mocking her.
Moonjumper, in awe, hovered over to him as soon as everyone had cleared out and resumed their normal routines.
"Well… That was unexpected. I didn't anticipate your golden girl to argue with you like that! I thought you'd nipped that rebellious side in the bud!"
"I thought I did too, Moonboy,"Snatcher sighed in exhaustion. How dare the little upstart run off like that and WORRY him, and then have the audacity to backtalk? It was unheard of! "But who knew she had THAT kind of mouth on her?! I haven't heard anything that insolent since she was five and didn't want to go to bed at night! I HAD to punish her… Didn't I?"
The other specter put a hand on his arm with a sigh. "If you didn't, she probably would have walked all over you. You put your foot down, and she needs to realize that you're doing what you do for her own good… To keep her safe from the you-know-what. Every step she takes towards the outside is one step closer she gets to learning who YOU are. You're keeping her safe because you care about her; she just doesn't realize it yet."
Snatcher's gaze travelled in the direction she'd run off in. Very faintly could he make out Cashmere's small frame swinging the pickaxe as hard as she could against the cursed ice. He sighed again.
"I suppose that's one way of putting it…"
"Oh come now, Brother! I've seen the way you look at her!" Moonjumper countered in amusement. "Cashmere is the one you had your first contractors retrieve baby stuff for, isn't she? You had them all over the planet on those contracted scavenger hunts to get the stuff you'd need to take care of her because you had no clue how to raise a child!"
Snatcher stiffened, but he did not dispute the claim.
"I was doing what I had to do. No more, no less. And look at how she thanks me… Ungrateful little—!"
He was her boss. No more, no less. And AS her boss, he had an obligation to make sure she didn't come to any trouble while she worked. Why was it so hard to understand?!
While the two "brothers" argued over the subject, Cashmere took a small break from the harder labor on the other side of Subcon. She leaned against the ice, catching her breath, and was happy to see a few dwellers coming to float near her even after she'd been royally dragged like that.
"Hey," she greeted them tiredly with a smile. "Nice knowing you guys aren't mad at me…"
Dwellers didn't speak audibly. But when Cashmere interacted with them, she heard whispered voices in her head. Small, childlike voices. And it made her feel good knowing she had a secret sort of way to communicate with them when nobody else so much as tried to.
Are you okay…?
Really loud…
Angry is bad..
Why'd you cry? The voices spoke, and Cashmere sighed.
"Snatcher doesn't want me even going NEAR the forest's edge, and it's a really dumb rule considering he knows I would never try to leave without at least asking first. At least… I THOUGHT he knows… Wait- maybe that's it!"
Could she have cracked the code? Cashmere certainly thought so. All of this had happened because she had gone off without warning, right? Would he have understood her frustrations if she'd explained them politely? Or at least asked to explore nicely?
The dwellers exchanged painted glances. Cashmere, on the other hand, stood back up and began her work again with a newfound resolution in mind.
"I'm gonna do it," she huffed between swings. "Next time we talk, after I spend the next few days pouting, I'm going to be brave. I'm going to ASK him if I can see the outside, just once. Then I'll never ask for it again. Grovel at his feet, maybe… He can't say no if I play to his ego!" she giggled a bit, before turning back to her silent allies with a smirk. Mischief glittered playfully in those blue eyes; she was back to her old self again! Up to no good!
"But at least now he'll know I want to."
