Panotty falls for Archan's prank, but this time, it doesn't end in laughter. Requested by a tumblr anon! Based on the prompt: "You lied to me!"
When Pranks Go Too Far
"And you promise there aren't any traps?" Panotty asked, clutching his panpipes to his chest.
Archan chuckled, a tittering trill which filled the woods around them. "Of course, of course! Not a single one! I prooomise!"
A frown etched into his cheeks. He heard that line too many times from her. When Archan said she hadn't dug any pitfalls, then it certainly meant there were at least a couple. He tumbled down too many times for his liking, so when Archan called him over to her cottage and waited by the entrance, he knew a trap had been set.
Goading the truth out of her had proved futile. She had insisted she wasn't tricking him and demonstrated by running in a circle around her home. She skipped and leaped across a few round stones leading to her home and flipped back, going as far as shooting an arrow over their heads to add to her performance.
Panotty grumbled and tucked his panpipes into his pocket. He took one step forward and carefully set his weight on the patch of grass. It didn't shift, and the earth seemed secure. Taking another step, he slowly walked towards her, Archan's giggling becoming louder as he approached.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted flecks of dirt mingled on the grass towards his left. Scoffing, he knew that by stepping on that patch, then he would end up at the bottom of a hole. Smirking as he sidestepped it, he swung his arms like a proud conductor, but the world was suddenly replaced with brown dirt and gray stones.
He hadn't realized the earth caved in underneath him until he slammed into the ground. Yelping, Panotty snatched a vine stuck into the side of the hole and pulled himself up, Archan's laughter pricking his pointed ears. As he climbed up, pain jolted the soles of his feet, and when he got to his knees, he forced himself to ignore the tears pricking in the corners of his eyes.
"Got'cha, got'cha!" Archan chirped, skipping around him. "You fell, fell, fell all the way-!"
"You lied to me!" he barked as he stumbled to stand up. Wincing, he fell back to his knees, his ankle seizing. He rolled down the green fabric of his elf shoes and grimaced at the violet blotch forming like a chain around his foot.
"Y-you're hurt?" Archan's eyes widened.. Everyone always fell for her traps, but no one had ever been injured.
Panotty scowled at her and turned away, his shoulders hitching to his ears. "Go away! I don't wanna play with you anymore."
"B-but-"
"Go! Away!" He smacked the ground, frustration fueling him. Fat, bulbous tears rolled down his cheeks as he rubbed his ankle, his hurt more evident than he would have liked for her to see.
Archan tugged her collar. Seeing him in pain made her skin crawl. She thought he would have been fine with another prank. Tricking him and the rest of their friends had become so common that she thought everyone accepted falling down her pitfalls as part of their daily routine.
But she had harmed him. This time, she had actually caused him to cry. Guilt swelled in her heart, and she rubbed the side of her neck.
"I'm sorry, Panotty," she said, her voice low and uncertain. "I thought you would be fine-"
"Well, I'm not fine! Do I look fine to you?" he snapped, throwing his arm out. He pushed himself off the ground and glared at her, the girl's grief-stricken expression almost too disingenuous. "I bet if I walk a few feet that way, I'll end up back in the ground."
She shook her head, her neck cracking from the sharp force. "N-no, you won't! Really! Honest!"
"Yeah, right," he hissed under his breath and hobbled off, his limp making him feel useless.
Archan watched him leave, her cry for him to wait trapped in her throat. She truly didn't mean to hurt him, but in the end, it didn't matter. She had caused too much mischief and earned his ire. As he vanished through the trees, her vision blurring with unshed tears, she wished she could have simply let him into her cottage to listen to his music.